The Barnstable Chronicles - Book 6: The Barnstable Cowboy - 4. Hope, Expectations, and the Football Star

The Summer started off as the best. Summer. Ever! It was the Summer before our Junior year—upperclassmen now--Yay! Jaime and I were working at the YMCA and the swimming camps. I had a great truck and could finally drive my ass wherever I wanted. The best part? No homework! And no homework means more sex time with Jaime! I hope my dick doesn’t fall off!

A couple of weeks after school had ended, I got a phone call from Coach Webster. He knew I was living with the Vega family and said he needed to meet with me and Jaime’s parents as soon as possible. Mrs. V. suggested that I invite Coach for dinner. So I did just that, and he accepted.

I was kinda pissed me off that Coach wouldn’t tell me anything about what we were going to talk about—but he told me not to worry. I wasn’t in any kind of trouble, and he promised that it was good news.

Mrs. V. made a pot roast for dinner. It was incredible—but not nearly as incredible as what Coach had to say while we were eating dessert.

“This afternoon, I got a letter from Coach Reese. He’s the swim coach down at UT. He has offered you a full scholarship to the July swim camp in Austin.”

“Wow! That’s amazing, coach! They want me? Why?”

Coach Webster opened the letter and started reading. “Let’s see—here it is. ‘One of my assistants recently saw Hunter Landrey at the state meet. Interestingly, he was there to watch a swimmer from another school. However, when he came into my office, he talked about Mr. Landrey and the outstanding potential he observed.

‘I would like to invite Mr. Landry to our swim camp in July. All expenses, including travel, will be taken care of by the University. Quite frankly, I am quite interested to see if Mr. Landrey would be a good fit for the Longhorn swim program.

‘With Mr. Landry being a potential recruit, my interactions with him are limited. Please have him call our athletic office as soon as possible so arrangements for him to come to Austin can be finalized.’

“Hunter, there is some paperwork here that will need signatures from your parents. I know you’re living here, but is that going to be possible? Can you get them to sign these papers?”

“I think so. Mrs. V.? What do you think?”

“I will make sure your mother signs whatever she needs to sign. We’ll go see her tomorrow morning before you and Jaime have to be at the Y.”

Well, that made my stomach flip around. It’s been a great three months not having to deal with those people. But now—it looks like I need them. God, I hate that!

I asked Coach if Jaime would be able to go to the camp, and he said I was the only one invited. I must have looked pretty disappointed because Jaime said it was okay. The camp was only three weeks long, and he would be here when I got back.

That night, after some amazing sex, Jaime told me that he didn’t know if he would go to college. He had started to have these feelings that he might want to enlist in the Army. He got all emotional and said he had had this nagging feeling that he needed to finish what his brothers had begun.

I guess hearing that news from Jaime kinda tore me up. Of course, it meant a lot of time not being together—that was bad enough. But it also scared the fuck outta me. I mean, fuck! He already lost one brother and nearly lost another one. I’m pretty sure I would literally die if something happened to him.

“Hey—Hunter.” Jaime wiped a tear from my cheek and lightly kissed me. “Hey, baby. I haven’t made any kind of decision here. It’s just something that’s had me thinking.”

“You lost one brother already, Jaime—and your other brother is all kinds of fucked up. I don’t know that I could handle anything happening to you.”

“I know, I know. And—I can’t lie here with you in my arms and tell you that nothing will happen to me. We both know that I can’t make a promise like that. But, for some reason, for the last few weeks, it’s been like I hear Carlos talking to me. He tells me that my country needs me—this country that has given so damn much to our family.”

“I know. It just scares the fuck outta me. I’m being greedy, that’s all. I mean, five or six years without you in my arms—what the fuck am I gonna do? What the fuck are you gonna do? You’re a bigger horndog than me!”

“We’ll figure all that out, don’t worry. But I can promise you this—no matter what we decide to do if we’re apart for a long time, there is no fucking way I’m letting you outta my heart. I love you—and only you—Hunter Landrey. There’s nothing on this entire planet that will ever change that.”

Well fuck! I kissed my boy in ways we’d never kissed before. It was so fucking intense! Somehow I managed to get the words “fuck me, please” out of my mouth, and before I knew it, Jaime Vega was filling me with his beautiful cock.

Our usual grunts and moans were different this time. Instead, we would tell each other how much we loved each other. We would kiss and touch in a completely new way. Never—and I mean never—in my life have I ever felt this way during sex.

But, as Jaime pointed out later, that wasn’t sex—not in the slightest. We just discovered what making love was. Now I knew, in the deepest part of my heart, just how special the thing Jaime and I had was. Pretty incredible for a couple of teenagers, right?

After a fantastic dinner of Mexican meatloaf—pretty much meatloaf with peppers mixed in—Mrs. V. and I headed to the ranch. Even though she told me not to worry about anything, I couldn’t help my stomach doing somersaults. Since it was after dinner, I knew my father would be there, too. Could Mrs. V. handle both of them? Oh, god! Please make this happen fast so we can get the Hell out of there!

And here we are. Mrs. V. parked her car in the circle driveway right in front of the door. I took a deep breath as we climbed the stairs.

“Don’t worry, Hunter. We’re here just to get some signatures. I don’t intend to stay for a friendly conversation.”

“Like that’s even possible.” Wait. Wait a minute. What do I do now? Do I just walk in like I always did? Do I knock on the door like a guest? I mean—I don’t live here anymore. Mrs. V. looked at me and smiled—while she went ahead and knocked on the door.”

The door opened, and my mother stood there—no fake-ass smile this time. “Hello, Maria—Hunter. Come on in.”

Mom silently led us into the kitchen. When we walked past the living room, Dad was sitting in his recliner, TV blaring, fast asleep with the newspaper open across his body. I’ll just thank God for small favors.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you. We won’t be staying long. Hunter just needs your signature on these forms. He’s been invited to Austin to participate in a three-week swim camp at UT. Their head coach invited him. It appears that Hunter is exceptionally talented, and they might just want him to be a part of their team when he finishes high school.”

“Well, I guess that’s a good thing. We certainly don’t have the kind of money it’s going to take for Hunter to go off to college.”

“Mom. We’re not asking you for anything except to sign the papers—then we’re out of here. And just so you know, the last people I would ask for help paying for college are the two of you. Will you sign the papers. I want to get out of here almost as much as you want me out of here.”

Whoah! It looked like Mom’s eyes were gettin’ a little watery. Must be something in the air—allergies can be kinda brutal this time of year. Either way, she signed the papers and pushed them over to Mrs. V.

“Thank you, Mrs. Landrey. This is a great opportunity for your son. I hope you realize that.”

Wow! The way Mrs. V. said “your son” kinda made Mom flinch. Could she even be feeling even a little bad about the way things are turning out? Nah!

Mrs. V. put the papers back in her folder and nodded at me. I said goodbye to Mom, and we left. The whole thing was a lot easier than I thought it would be—and I’m going to fucking Austin in a few weeks!

Things were pretty quiet on the way back to the Vega’s house—until Mrs. V. said, “I think your mother misses you.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“She was in tears at least twice in the short time we were there. I mean, when it all comes down to it, you’re her son—her baby. Regardless of the circumstances, that will never change.”

“I guess—if you say so.”

“Hunter, I want you to know that we all love having you with us. But, if there is even a small chance your mother would like you to return home. You should at least think about that possibility.”

“Do I have to? I mean, living with your family has easily been one of the best things to happen in my life. Before—there was always this gnawing feeling in my stomach. It was like this sense of dread every time I knew I had to go home and be with those people. You don’t even know how nice it’s been not to have that feeling for since I’ve been with y’all.”

The rest of the trip home was pretty much filled with Mrs. V. saying nice things about me—and I would answer with something nice about her. Just before we pulled into the driveway, she said, “I know you know just how much Jaime loves and adores you. I want you to know that we all feel the exact same way—without the sex part, of course.”

“Wha—what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She stopped the car in the driveway and looked at me—smiling. “Oh, please! We’re aware of the type of relationship you and Jaime are having. I’ve said it a hundred times—you may be good swimmers, but you’re terrible actors. There’s a look that you and Jaime share. I know that look well. Let’s just say that Jaime gets that look from his father, okay?”

“I’m sorry! I’m soooo sorry! We’ll stop, I promise!”

“Hunter, don’t make promises you are incapable of keeping. It’s not a good look for you. And please—I don’t want you to change a single thing about yourself. All I ask is that you and Jaime respect each other, treat each other better than you ever hope to be treated, and take care of each other. Take care of my little boy, Hunter. He needs you for that.”

“You know—I need him for that, too.”

“I know, dear boy.” Mrs. V. leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. What the fuck? Was I getting tears in my eyes from that? Of course, I was. I never had those mother things done for me when I was growing up.

We went into the house and found Jaime watching some soccer from Mexico with Frankie and his dad. They totally ignored us as we came into the family room. I looked at Mrs. V. with a “what-the-fuck?” kind of look. “You’ll get used to it, dear. Trust me!” She handed me the envelope with the signed papers and said I should take them by the school on my way to the Y tomorrow.

I hugged Mrs. V. and thanked her again for all of her help. At least I didn’t start bawling again. Sheesh!

I went into the bedroom and started reading the papers Mom signed. This camp sounds awesome! Three weeks in Austin, living in the athletic dorms, working one-on-one with a member of the Longhorn swim team and the coaching staff—it’s like getting a taste of college life before getting to college.

I had just finished reading when Jaime walked into the bedroom. “Sorry, Dad and I were totally into the game. How did things go with your Mom?”

“It was okay, Mom was her usual cold-ass self, but she signed everything when your mom made her realize that this was a possible ticket to college for me.”

“About that—college, I mean.”

“Yeah? Have you decided where you want to go?”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about.” Jaime took a deep sigh and looked straight ahead. “First thing, you need to know that you are the fucking best thing that has ever happened in my life.”

“Same for me, Jaime.”

“Losing Carlos—my brother—my best friend in life—was the worst thing. He joined the Army to fill the dream that Frankie had.”

I don’t know why, but my eyes started to fill up with tears. I guess I knew what was coming next.

“I have to fill Carlos’ dream. I have to go into the Army and do the work Carlos didn’t finish.”

“But—but—what if something happens to you? I don’t think I could live if something happened to you.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I’m not going to let them do shit to me.”

“Have you told your parents yet?”

“No. I had to tell you first. I love you, Hunter. That means I share everything with you before I tell anyone else.”

“But why? We’ll be apart for years!”

“I’ll be gone while you’re in college. I’ll finish at about the same time you do. Then we can start our life together. Get that little house with the stupid fence, think about having kids, get a dog, make love every night—the whole deal.”

“Doesn’t it scare you? The whole thing scares the fuck outta me.”

“Hey—don’t cry baby. The whole world can be scary. Life can be scary. But if we live our lives afraid of what’s outside the door, we would stay inside and stop living.” Jaime pulled me into his arms. “You are going to be a part of the best swim program in the entire country. Hell, you’re probably gonna be working your way into the Olympics as soon as you get there. You’re destined to be one of the top swimmers in the country. Me? My destiny is to finish Carlos’s work.”

When I saw the look of love in Jaime’s eyes, I knew he was going to do the right thing. It didn’t scare me any less, but damn! I guess I only have a year left before the most important person in my life heads off to the Army.

The next thing I knew, I was in my truck—driving solo to Austin. It was only about a four-hour drive. The last half-hour was just driving through the Austin traffic. I finally made it to the dorm for check-in.

I went to the desk in the lobby and gave the ladies my name. She got on the phone and told whoever was on the other end that I was in the lobby. The nice lady said that this Jerry Smith dude would be right down to help me get situated. The other lady—also nice—said that Jerry would show me where to park my truck once I was moved in. Then we would come back to the dorm and fill out some paperwork. Damn! This place sure does love its paperwork!

A couple of minutes later, the elevator doors opened, and this cute-as-fuck boy stepped out and walked up to the desk.

“Hey! You must be Hunter!”

“Yep! That would be me. And I’m guessin’ you’re Jerry.”

“Oh! A smart jock! We’re all in trouble now!”

We laughed a little and grabbed my bags from the truck. We went up to the fourth floor, and Jerry opened the door to the room. Well, fuck me silly! This wasn’t a dorm room—this was a fucking apartment!

Jerry pointed to the left, and we dropped my bags off on the bed. “Wow, Jerry! This isn’t what I was expecting for a dorm room!”

“Yeah, the school takes real good care of its athletes. I’ll give you a tour after we park your truck.”

I had to park the truck in a garage by the baseball diamond, and it took us about fifteen minutes to make it back to the dorm. When we got back to the room, I threw some sheets on the bed and put my clothes up.

Jerry sat on the floor in my room and talked while I put away my shit. They paired me with him since he also swims Medley. He did the camp last year and was added to the roster as a redshirt freshman for the upcoming year. I asked him if he was pissed about the redshirt thing, and he said he was at first, but when Jerry realized that it bought him a fifth year of college so he could get his degree with a little less pressure, he was pretty chill about everything.

After I got my shit put away, Jerry took me around the dorm for a quick tour. Whoa! This place sure takes good care of its jocks! The cafeteria was more like a restaurant. They had food for everybody’s likes—and it was all healthy shit! Jerry said the rest of the food on campus was pretty much regular cafeteria food—boring, bland, and blech.

He showed me the onsite study room, which sure looked like a library. Everything was geared toward the athletic curriculum, but they would get whatever we needed within an hour or two if they didn’t have it on hand.

My favorite place was the lounge. It was huge! They had a shitload of flat-screen televisions, and most of them were hooked up with PlayStations, X-Boxes, and Wiis. There were a couple of pool tables in there, too. Jerry laughed at me when he saw how big my eyes got.

“Dude, don’t worry—you’re gonna be too wiped out to have too much fun in here—trust me on that!”

“That’s good, too!”

“We have about an hour before dinner is ready. How about we go check out the pool?”

“Sweet!”

It was just a ten-minute walk to the Jamail Swimming Center. Whoa! This place is fucking amazing! I’ve seen it before, but being in the space was like being a kid in Disneyworld!

I remember hearing that this is one of the fastest pools in the world. They have this perfect combination of pool depth, gutter system, filtration rate, and lane width. The dive tank was just as impressive, but I won’t be in there much at all—thank God!

There was a men’s and women’s locker room for the team and two more for the general public. That was cool. Jerry said that the pool was closed to the public during the camps and that I would be using the public locker room for the three weeks.

Jerry then said he had an idea and told me to follow him. We went through a door on the other side of the pool and walked into a hall with conference rooms and offices. We stopped at a door with Mike Ellis on the nameplate.

“Hey, Coach.”

“Hey there, Smith. What’s up?”

“This is Hunter Landrey. He’s going to be joining us for camp. Hunter—this is Mike Ellis, our Medley coach.”

“Oh, I know Mr. Landrey. I’m the one who told Coach Reese all about him. I’ve been watching him for over a year now.”

“Really? You’ve been watching me—and I didn’t know?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it does sound a little creepy.”

We all laughed, and I already started to like Coach Ellis. He seems pretty cool.

“So, I was wondering if we might be able to get Hunter all signed in before the crowds in the morning?”

“Sure. That sounds like a plan.”

Coach Ellis reached behind his desk and into a cardboard box. There was a large envelope with my name on it, and he opened it.

“We have two Longhorn suits and a cap for you.”

“I’ve never worn a cap before.”

“You will now—especially when you see how much time this one item knocks down your average. It’s either the cap or a shaved head.”

“Cap will be just fine, sir!”

“I need you to sign this sheet that says you received a copy of the camp rules and guidelines. Then I want you to read the entire book so that you won’t have any questions about our expectations. Then sign the back page and turn that in tomorrow morning. You’re already moved in with Jerry?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, you two can come in at 8:00 a.m. instead of seven. Sound good?”

We went back to the room to drop off my stuff before heading down to the cafeteria. Once we were in line, Jerry’s phone buzzed.

“Shit! I gotta take this. It’s my girl. Go ahead and get a table. I’ll catch up with you when I’m done.”

“Mkay.”

I got some grilled pork chops, roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and some brown rice. I thought I was finished getting my food, but the line went to an amazing salad bar next. I put together a great salad and then went out to the dining room to find a table.

I found one off to the side and next to a window. As soon as I got settled in, I heard a strange voice—well, not strange strange—it was just one I hadn’t heard yet.

“Hey—mind if I join you?”

I looked up, and I pretty much gasped out loud. What was probably the hottest dude I’ve ever seen in my life was holding his tray and smiling at me. Of course, he can sit down! Fuck Jerry and his phone call!

“Y-yeah. Have a seat.”

“Cool. I’m Dan, by the way—and you must be new around here.”

“Yeah, I’m Hunter. I’m here for the swim camp.”

“Awesome. I’m here to help with the football camp.”

“Why don’t you look or act like a typical footballer?”

“That would be ‘cause I’m the quarterback.”

“Ahhh. Ohhh! Dan Dillinger? You’re fucking Dan Dillinger?”

“Yeah. Chill, dude. When I’m off the field, I’m Dan. That’s all. I’m just like anyone else on campus—trying to keep my grades up and hoping to get laid as much as possible!”

“Like that would be a problem for you!”

“Thanks—I think.”

“Well—I mean—well, you’re hot. You should be able to get pretty much anyone you want—even if you weren’t Dan Dillinger!”

“You think I’m hot?”

“Duh!” Oh, fuck! The quarterback football star thinks I’m hittin’ on him! Fuck me!

“Hey, Hunter. I see you’ve met Dan.” Jerry pulled a chair up to the table and set his food on the table.

“Yeah, You guys know each other?”

“Yep! And Dan—hands off this one. He’s still in high school.”

“What? How old are you, Hunter?”

“Umm—seventeen.”

“That’s the age of consent in Texas, Jerry. So if this hot boy wants me, he can pretty much have whatever he wants.”

What. The. Fuck? The star quarterback of the UT football team—the star quarterback who’s probably going right into the NFL next year—he’s hitting on me? Me—a kid from Bumfuck, Texas??

“I—I—I got a boyfriend back home. Sorry.”

“So I guessed right! Swimmer boy here is into dick!”

“And you are, too?”

“Yeah, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell everyone.”

“Not my shit to tell, is it?”

“You’re pretty cool, Hunter. I hope we can be friends while you’re here.”

“Yeah, that would be cool.”

The three of us talked and finished eating. We said our goodbyes, and Jerry took me back to the room.

Once we were in the room, Jerry stopped me before I went into my bedroom. “You do know Dan was totally hitting on you, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Kinda flatterin’, ya know.”

“Well, just be careful. Dan’s got a boyfriend, and they like to play around with hot boys—which he apparently thinks you are. Not my place to say. But I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

“Cool. I’m gonna read that book Coach Ellis gave me.”

“Good idea. I have to head out for a bit and see my girlfriend. That’s what that call was about. You good hanging out alone?”

“Yeah. I might head down to the lounge and hang a bit. If I don’t see you when you get back, I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yeah, you probably won’t see me, but I’ll be back in time to take you to the pool in the morning.”

Jerry left pretty fast, and I sat in the living room. I pulled out my phone and dialed Jaime.

“Hey, babe! How’s Austin?”

“It’s great. This place is blowing my mind. The dorm is like an apartment. The food is as good as any restaurant I’ve ever been to. The pool—well, there aren’t any words to describe that place!”

“Wow! I’m proud of you, Hunter. This is such a great opportunity for you.”

“Oh! You’ll never guess who I had dinner with!”

“I have no idea.”

“Right. Dan Fucking Dillinger! Dude walked up to me and asked if he could have dinner with me!”

“No way! Is he as cute in person as he is on television?”

“Cuter—Hot as fuck, if you ask me. And you will never believe what he did!”

“Yeah? Tell me!”

“The star quarterback of the fucking Longhorn football team totally hit on me!”

“No way! You gonna do it?”

“No! I have you—I have a boyfriend!”

“Aww—that’s totally sweet of you, Hunter. But I want you to listen to me. When I join the Army, we are going to be apart for years. I have no intention of ending things with you—you’re the best thing to ever happen to me. But think about it. You’re hot as fuck, Hunter. Do you really believe you’re going to be able to keep your dick in your pants for six years?”

“Do you?”

“I want to say I can, but you and I are both total horndogs. I don’t think it’s possible.”

“So, what do we do about that?”

“I’ve been thinkin’ about it a lot. And I think we should allow each other—and ourselves—to do shit with other guys we find ourselves attracted to—but we keep it strictly physical. My heart is and always will be yours—no matter what.”

“So you’re saying we can play around as long as we never stop loving each other.”

“Yeah. I think that’s the only way to get through the six years.”

“Okay. That’s something to think about.”

“So—let’s try it out. You go fuck the shit outta that hottie quarterback. Have fun. And just keep in mind that you can give him whatever he wants—except your heart. That’s mine, baby.”

“I don’t want to cheat on you, Jaime.”

“It’s cheating only if you keep it a secret from me—and the only reason you would keep it a secret is if you’re doing something you shouldn’t—and since I just gave you permission, having hot sex with a hot jock should be fun—and hot!”

“I’ll think about it. I promise.”

“Oh, shit! Dad’s calling me out to the garage. He’s changing the oil in my truck.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Jaime!”

“Love you, too. Bye, Hunter.”

Wow! That wasn’t what I was expecting from Jaime! But then, he has always been the thinker between the two of us. He’s got more common sense than should be legal. I needed a change of scene, so I took the camp rulebook and headed down to the lounge.

I wasn’t in there for ten minutes when I noticed two pairs of legs in my peripheral vision. I looked up and saw Dan with another hot-as-fuck dude.

“Hey there, Hunter! This is my roommate, Jack. Jack—Hunter. He’s a swimmer.”

I stood up to shake Jack’s hand. He looked into my eyes, and I’m pretty sure I heard him breathe out, “Whoa.”

Jack looked at Dan and said, “You were totally right. This boy is the hottest thing I’ve seen in ages.”

Yeah—that made me blush. But at the same time, it gave me a feeling in my stomach like everything was knotting up—in a good way.

“So, Hunter. Do you have any plans tonight?”

“No. Not really. I just need to read this book and sign it for tomorrow morning.”

“That’s cool. You think you might like to come up and watch a movie or something with Jack and me?”

I looked at Dan—then at Jack—and all I could hear was Jaime saying, Just have fun! Fuck the shit outta that quarterback!

“Yeah—why not? A movie sounds a lot better than a book of rules and guidelines.”

We left the lounge and got into the elevator. Jack pressed “8,” and the doors closed—right when it hit me. “Oh, shit! You’re Jack Miller—the wide receiver!”

“Yeah, Dan and I have been best friends since high school—that’s why I’m his favorite receiver.” Whoa! He winked at me and smiled.

“Oh, okay. OH! I get it!”

“Good boy, Hunter.”

The elevator doors opened, and we walked down the hall. Jack opened the door and walked in. Dan put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me in, following very close behind.

I heard the door close. Then I heard Jaime’s voice again. Have fun! Fuck the shit outta the quarterback!