The Barnstable Chronicles - Book 6: The Barnstable Cowboy - 10. The Cowboy Finds His Poolboy

I think the worst part of Jaime’s death was the waiting. It took over two weeks for Jaime’s casket to arrive home. Mr. and Mrs. V. didn’t want a big funeral, so there weren’t a lot of plans to make. That meant for two weeks, we all pretty much sat around, looked off into space, and didn’t say very much.

I was glad that friends and neighbors brought over enough food to keep us going, but having to listen to them talk about Jaime, or how damned sorry they were, or that it just wasn’t right that one family should suffer so much loss. I mean—sure—they were all trying to be helpful and say the right things. But it didn’t help with the empty, aching feeling I had inside.

About a week into the waiting, I had pretty much had to talk to someone—anyone. I couldn’t talk to the Vegas. I definitely wasn’t going to waste my time with Mom or Dad. That left one person. I decided to place a Skype call to Vic Greenley. He always made things better.

I excused myself from the dinner table and went into the bedroom. I pulled Skype up on my laptop and placed the call to Vic. Hell, I didn’t know where he was for sure. This was the best way to make sure I could get to him.

“Hey, Cowbo… Oh, hey Hunter. You Okay?”

“No, Vic. It’s bad. It’s so fucking bad right now.”

“Hey, hey, hey—tell me, Hunter. What’s going on?”

“They got him, Vic. They got my Jaime. He—he’s been killed over there.”

“Wha—what the fuck? When did this happen?”

“Over a week ago—well, that’s when they came to tell us.”

“Awww, man! I’m so sorry, Hunter. Do you want me to come there? Do you need anything?”

“I need this to be some kind of sick mistake. I need Jaime to walk in the door and ask us what the fuck we’re cryin’ about. I can’t stop crying, Vic. I’m lost.”

“So what’s going to happen? Do you want me to come to the funeral?”

“No. All I know is that it’s going to be a small and private funeral. His body’s probably not even going to be here for at least another week. I hate this waiting crap! I want this whole thing to be over!”

“Hey. I just thought of something.”

“What?”

“How much time did Coach Reese give you? When do you have to be back in Austin?”

“Coach was great. He told me to take my time getting back to school—to take all the time I needed.”

“Okay—so—hear me out. You need to come to the Cape. Once the funeral and everything is done, get on a plane and come to the Cape. I think a complete change of scene would be just what the doctor ordered.”

“So yeah—can I think about it? But, you know, the answer will probably be yes.”

“Awesome! And Hunter—you know you can call me—anytime—24/7—for anything.”

“Thanks, man. I already feel a hundred times better just from talking to you—and seeing you, too. But I should probably go back into the living room and sit with Jaime’s parents.”

“Okay, cowboy. I know things completely suck right now—but you’ll get through it. I’m here to help you. However I can, dude.”

“Thanks, Yankee boy. I miss the fuck outta ya.”

“Back athca, cowboy!”

Of course, after the funeral, I made plans to go and visit Vic. I got all the flight arrangements done on Monday—I was flying out on Thursday. I was planning on spending two weeks, but I packed pretty much everything I had. Hell if I know why!

That night, I went to bed. I was feeling more relaxed than I had in a long, long time. I guess it was partly because I had made some plans. I must have dozed off because what happened next felt like a dream—while at the same time, it felt soooo real.

“Hi, baby.”

I took a deep breath and sank into the arms that were surrounding me.

“Jaime? What are you—”

“Shhhh. It’s okay. I told them I had to see you—that I had to hold you and tell you I’m okay.”

I looked down, and yes—I saw Jaime’s strong arms wrapped around me.

“Are you naked? You don’t get to wear clothes up there?”

“Clothes—it’s hard to explain. But they told me that you would see me the same way I was the last time you saw me down here.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” I started to tear up. “Jaime—I miss you so much. I miss this.”

“I know, baby. But don’t worry, I’ll be there when it’s time for you to be. But listen, I’m in a good place. So I don’t want you to worry about that, okay?”

“Okay. Can you stay with me tonight?”

“No, I don’t get a lot of time down here. It takes a lot of energy to do this, but I had to tell you—”

“Tell me what?”

“I want to tell you that when the time comes, you need to move on. I want to tell you that an amazing boy is about to come into your life. Let him in. Love him. He’s the one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.”

“But, I don’t want someone else. I’ve only wanted you.”

“I know, baby. But, I’m not here anymore—and this boy is.”

“And how am I supposed to know when he’s there?”

“Close your eyes.”

I did.

“What do you see?”

“I see a swimming pool—it looks like a backyard pool.”

“Look inside the pool.”

“I see a boy—blond—cute—tanned.”

“That’s him, baby. That’s the boy who’s going to love you with every ounce of life he has—and you get to let him—and you get to let yourself love him back.”

“How will he know if—”

That’s all I remember. Jaime felt so real pressed up against me. I even felt his hard cock against my back. Damn! Why didn’t I ask him to fuck me one last time???

I got to the Amarillo airport at 9:00, Thursday morning. Mrs. V. was awesome. She told me to take all the time I needed and not to worry about them. They were going to be okay. It still made me sad to say goodbye to the only real family I had in Texas.

I promised to call every few days and check up on them. Mrs. V. kissed me on the cheek and sent me through the TSA checkpoint.

After a short flight to Dallas, an hour-long layover, and another 3½ hours in the air, I finally landed in the land of Yankees and weird accents. As I was riding the escalator down to the baggage claim, I saw him. My Yankee was smiling and waving at me down below!

I literally ran to Vic and threw my arms around him. It was so good to feel those familiar arms around me again! We were laughing and crying at the same time.

“So, do I need to be showin’ my passport to anyone? I’m pretty sure I’m in a foreign country right now!”

“You dork! God, I’ve missed you!”

We grabbed my luggage and headed out to the short-term parking garage. Once we put the bags in the back of Vic’s SUV, we were soon headed back to Barnstable.

“Damn, Vic! New car, new house, new job. Things are workin’ out great for you, dude!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky. How are you doing? Do you need anything special while you’re here?”

“I’m doin' better. I miss the fuck outta Jaime. I always will. But the strangest thing happened. The day before his funeral, I got a letter from him. It was like he knew somethin' was gonna happen. He told me that if somethin' happened to him, and he didn’t make it back—he wanted me to promise him that I would move on. He wanted me to be happy. He said that the time we’d had together was some of the happiest times of his life and that he hoped that would go on forever—but then, if not—he was happy that he had the time with me that he had.”

“Wow. It really is like Jaime knew something was going to happen. Well, I’m here for you for at least a week, right?”

“At least. Things are pretty much up in the air right now. I—uhm—well, I resigned from my position in Austin. So I’m more or less a free agent now. Just playin' it by ear.”

“How close are you to graduating?”

“Real close. In fact, after talkin' to my advisors, I should be able to finish up the rest of my courses online. They’re all pretty much general studies. Should be a piece of cake. I’m thinkin’ I’ll be finished by Christmas.”

Before we knew it, Vic was pulling into the driveway of his new house and parked inside the garage. We pulled my bags out of the back and walked into the kitchen.

He gave me the grand tour of the house, showing me the living room, kitchen, office, and finally, the guest room. “I’m going to put you here in the guest room. We’ll figure the sleeping arrangements when we need to. My cousin is coming in Saturday morning from Kentucky, and he’ll most likely be crashing with me in my room. But he’ll only be here a couple of days. You ready to see the best part of the house?”

“Fuck yeah!”

Vic took me to the back door and led him out to the patio. We both turned our heads to the pool when we heard a splash.

“Ummm, Vic? You have a nekkid twink boy in your pool.”

Vic and I walked to the edge of the pool—which looked like the one Jaime had shown me—and the cute twink swam up to us.

“Holy Mother of God! How can two fucking gods be standing in front of me?”

“Hunter, this is Perry. He lives next door and is also my pool boy.”

“Ahhh, the pool boy with the hot body who loves to fuck? Isn’t that what you told me the other day on the phone?”

“So this is the cowboy you were telling me about, Vic? The one who hates wearing clothes but seems to be wearing them right now?”

Vic and I looked at each other, stripped down to nothing, and dove into the pool to join Perry. We played around, dunking each other, grabbing at each other’s junk, and pretty much had a good time.

Perry announced that as much as he would love to stay and get to know me better, he needed to get home and finish his homework so he could get to sleep. He gave Vic a light kiss and then moved to give me one. Only thing—I wrapped my arms around the boy and made the kiss much longer and more passionate.

“Holy fuck! You cowboys sure do know how to kiss!”

“I’ll be here all day tomorrow while you and Vic are in school. So why don’tcha stop by for a little visit when you get home?”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, cowboy!”

Perry pulled himself out of the pool, his hard cock pointing to the night sky.

“Nice! Fuckin’ nice!”

“Night, Vic. See you tomorrow, cowboy!”

We watched Perry pull on his shorts and walk out through the gate into the side yard.

“What a hottie you have for a neighbor! But let’s get our nekkid asses inside. I need me some Yankee-boy time!”

We gathered our clothes and headed inside. Vic and I decided we were hungry and ordered a pizza. When the pizza arrived, Vic put on his bathrobe and let the pizza boy in. Just as Vic finished paying, I walked into the living room, totally naked. The pizza boy’s eyes widened, and he gulped when he saw me. I smiled and winked, and the pizza boy turned and nearly ran out of the house.

Vic turned around after shutting the front door. “Dude, this isn’t the suite. I’m a teacher at the high school now. Luckily, he wasn’t one of my students. I’m hoping he’s either home-schooled or goes to one of the private schools around here. We just need to be more careful.”

“Sorry, dude! I forget you’re a respectable man now. I promise to be more careful. Maybe not so much with Perry, but with everyone else, yes.”

We took the pizza into the kitchen and chowed down. Vic apologized for not having any beer in the fridge but explained that he still didn’t really drink. We enjoyed some fresh-brewed iced tea with the pizzas and then headed to bed.

I climbed into bed with Vic and told him that I really needed to be held. I missed that a lot. We agreed not to have sex since both of us were pretty exhausted after an incredibly long day.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Hunter. I’ve really missed your cowboy goodness in my life.”

“I can’t tell ya how good it feels to be with ya, Yankee-boy. Can I tell ya somethin’, and you promise not to think I’ve gone all crazy on ya?”

“You can tell me anything you want, big guy.”

I flipped around, so I was facing Vic, and we wrapped our arms around each other again. I proceeded to tell Vic all about Jaime’s visit earlier in the week. When I told him about Jaime showing me the pool—his pool—with the beautiful blond boy swimming in it, I was relieved that Vic didn’t act like I had gone totally bonkers.

“Perry? You think Perry’s the boy Jaime showed you?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is. Jaime kissed me again and said he would always be with me to help me get through my life and that he would always keep a place in my heart. Then he told me he loved me and just—just faded away.

“When I woke up from whatever that was—it definitely was way more than a dream—and instead of cryin', I just felt this amazin’ peace that went down to my core. I was even happy for a change. It was so bizarre.

“And then tonight, when that cute boy kissed me—I could almost feel Jaime telling me to keep kissin' him—he told me that Perry was the one and that Barnstable was my new home.”

“Whoa—are you sure about this? That’s an awful lot of shit to get from a kiss, isn’t it?”

“You’d think so, yeah. But I’m gonna talk to Perry tomorrow afternoon. I think I’m gonna tell him all about Jaime, includin’ what I just told you. Ya think it’ll freak his shit out?”

“I don’t know, Hunter. I’ve not known him very long. But from what I can tell, he’s pretty much got his shit together. I mean, his boyfriend was a foreign exchange student from Italy, and he moved back at the beginning of the summer. He seems to be handling it well. He seems to have a great relationship with his Mom. He’s a responsible kid—and pretty fucking amazing in bed, too.”

“Yeah—you just moved in, and you’ve already tapped that hot little ass.”

“Yeah, sorry! Didn’t know he was going to end up yours. He tapped my ass too, by the way.”

“Well, I sure as fuck don’t have any idea what’s gonna happen tomorrow, but I know I gotta follow the advice I got from Jaime and see what happens.”

“Well, no matter what happens with Perry, you know you are loved. And nothing would make me happier than for you to find a way to stay here. Maybe I can get you on as an assistant with my swim teams. We have so many kids, and I need all the help I can get.”

“Really? You would do that? That would be fuckin’ awesome.”

“I’ll talk to the athletic director and see what he thinks. But I really do need to sleep. A full day of those kids—the day before a holiday weekend—is going to be hellaciously long.”

“Nite, Yankee-boy.”

“Nite, cowboy.”

Vic flipped around and scooted into me. It didn’t take long for both of us to fall into a deep, contented sleep—until 6:30 in the morning.

Now is the time to seize the day!

Now is the time to seize the day!

Vic turned the alarm off on his phone, and I looked over at him.

“You still use that same fuckin’ alarm?”

“Yup! It’s how I start every day. Hell, even Andy got used to it and put it on his phone!”

Vic slid out of bed and told me to go back to sleep. He was going to hit the pool and do laps before hitting the shower and getting ready for school. I told Vic that I was planning to hit the beach and do some running—if the beach was close enough to walk to. Instead, Vic said he would wake me up to drive him to school and keep the car to use during the day.

Vic had me drive him to school so I could have the SUV while he was at work. I agreed to pick him up at 3:30 since there would be no practice that afternoon. I went back to the house and went back to bed.

At about 10:00 in the morning, I finally woke up and went into the kitchen. I fired up the Keurig and made myself a cup of coffee. Then, I decided it was probably best to make the phone call I really didn’t want to make, but probably should.

After three rings, it was answered.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom. It’s Hunter.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m visiting Vic on Cape Cod.”

“That’s nice.”

“Actually, it is. I’m seriously thinking of staying here.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“I need a change of scene. I need a change of pace. I just need a change.”

“Well, if that’s what you need to do—"

There was a long and uncomfortable pause.

“Mom.”

“Yes, Hunter?”

“Why do you hate me? You didn’t even call me after Jaime died.”

“We don’t hate you. We just don’t know you anymore.”

“You could try. Or are you that ashamed of who I am?”

“Hunter, your father and I just don’t—"

“You know what, mom? Just stop with the excuses. They hurt more than the truth. You have my number—call me if you decide you’d like to have your son back.”

I ended the call and held my head in my hands. Then, after a deep sigh, I went to my bag and grabbed my iPad. I made another cup of coffee, went out to the patio, and fired up my Amazon Prime account. I’d been binge-watching Teen Wolf before my world came crashing down. If I was going to take my life back, this was as good a place to start as any.

I was in the middle of the third episode of the second season when I heard the side gate open.

“Perry! You came back!”

Perry had a huge smile on his face as he walked over to the patio. He sat on the chair next to me.

“How was your morning?”

“I slept late… didn’t wake up until 10. Then I called home to tell my mom I was here, and that was about the most unpleasant call I hope to make for the next year or so. Then I just decided to chill and watch some Teen Wolf. How was yours?”

“Just your typical half-day of school. Nothing special. Of course, I didn’t pay attention to anything. It seems all I could think about was an amazing kiss with the cutest cowboy.”

That brought cute grins to both of our faces. I noticed that as crappy as my conversation with my mother made me feel, just seeing Perry flipped things around 180-degrees.

“Have you eaten, Hunter? You hungry?”

“Yeah. All I’ve had is a couple cups of coffee.”

“Good. Can I take you out to lunch? I’d love just to sit and get to know you better.”

“I should probably put on some clothes, huh?”

“Shit! I didn’t even notice! I just kept looking at your face and those blue eyes. I mean, normally—I probably would have jumped your bones, but I felt something when I kissed you last night. Something that makes me want to get to know more about you—a lot more about you.”

“I’d like that. Yeah—I’d like that a lot.”

We went inside. Perry took a seat in the living room while I went into the guest room and pulled on a pair of cargo shorts, tee-shirt, and flip-flops. I walked out to the living room. Once I was sure the house was locked up, we went out to the garage and climbed into the SUV.

“Where to? I don’t know anything about this place.”

“How does a burger sound?”

“Sounds great to me!”

“Cool. We’ll go to the Barnstable Restaurant. We’ll go to the left when you get out of the driveway. It’s on Main Street and just about five minutes from here.”

We made our way to Main Street and had to drive around the block a few times before finding a parking spot. There was a ten-minute wait when we entered the restaurant, so we took a seat in the lobby.

“So… tell me about Perry Evans.”

“Well, Perry Evans is an eighteen-year-old Senior at Cape Cod Academy. He lives with his mom, Ginny. It’s just been the two of them pretty much as long as I can remember.”

“What about your dad?”

Perry took a deep breath and continued. “My dad was in the Army. In 2003, when I was just five, he got sent to the Middle East and was part of the first ground invasion into Southern Iraq. He wasn’t even there for a month when one of those roadside bombs got his convoy. They told mom that he died instantly—that he never felt any pain and never had to suffer like so many of the guys in his squadron did. It was really hard for my mom, but me?—I remember being sad, but mostly confused. I mean—Dad was in the Army for as long as I can remember, and he was hardly ever around.”

My eyes started to water a bit, and a couple of silent tears fell down my face. “I’m sorry, Perry. I know exactly how your mom feels.”

“Oh God, Hunter. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you upset!”

“No. No. It’s okay, really. I’m actually more sad for your mom and what she had to go through. But go on—I want to hear about you growin’ up. I’m guessin’ you were a handful for your mom.”

“Believe it or not, I was probably the best kid growing up. I loved my mom more than anyone would ever think possible. It was always just the two of us. Our relatives were all out of state, and we only saw them on holidays and such once things settled down after Dad died.

“Mom decided to stay here since she had just started at the nursing home and was moving her way up in the Admin part of things. She runs the entire place now. I’m really proud of her. I think it was a hot mess when they put her in charge. But, she got everything straightened out, and now she even helps other homes in the state.”

“How did you end up going to a private school instead of the high school Vic teaches at?”

“Dad left for Iraq right before I began kindergarten. His parents insisted that I get the best education possible, and back then, public schools were getting a pretty bad rep. So they set up a trust fund to pay for my education from kindergarten through graduate school.”

“That’s pretty awesome, though.”

“Yeah, looks that way, but I think the real reason is that they hated that my dad was in the service, and they wanted me to get the best education I could get so I wouldn’t end up following in his footsteps.”

“When did you start liking boys?”

Perry giggled and smiled. “I think I’ve pretty much always liked boys. That was fine up until nine or ten because all the boys thought girls were yucky. After that, I just never stopped thinking that when the other boys started thinking they weren’t so bad after all. I couldn’t understand what was wrong with them!”

“Have you had any boyfriends?”

“Oh yeah. Just one, though. Angelo—he was a foreign exchange student from Italy. Up until last year, I just looked at boys—especially the ones on the swim team. I mean, I was discreet about checking out their bodies. But last year, Angelo showed up—and for the first time, I caught a boy checking me out. I didn’t know what to do.

“Luckily, he came up to me after practice one day and asked me to go to a movie with him. He was so sweet. He picked me up at the house, came in, and met my mom—charmed the fuck out of her, too! We went to dinner on the beach and drove to the movie. We were a little early, so we sat in the car.

“First kiss, first grope, first blowjob—we never made it to the movie that night.”

Just then, we were called to their table. Once seated, we were told our server would be with us, and Perry said he was hoping we would get Donna, his favorite.

“Perry!” Our waitress walked up to the table and placed a kiss on his head! “I haven’t seen you in forever! And who is this hottie?”

“Donna, this is Hunter. He’s visiting from Texas, but I’m going to see about convincing him to stay here for a while.”

“Well, welcome to the Cape, Hunter. How do you like it so far?”

“Well, I just got here yesterday. But I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna like it just fine!”

“Oh my God! I love your accent!”

“Uhm, Donna—I don’t have an accent. Y’all are the ones talkin’ funny!”

We placed our orders, and Perry continued to share his story. He told me his Italian boyfriend showed him how to be a good lover. Perry said he thought he was in love, but then he didn’t really have anything to compare it to.

“But, I guess I have to say, my first kiss with Angelo didn’t feel anything like my first kiss with you, Hunter.”

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome, Perry. I haven’t felt a kiss like that in a long, long time.”

“But Hunter. I know you’re still healing, and that’s one of the reasons you came here. I can’t believe I’m saying this—but I don’t want to have sex with you. Well, I mean—I definitely want to have sex with you—but not tonight. I want to wait until you know that you’re ready.”

My eyes began to well up with tears as I smiled at the beautiful boy sitting across from me. “I need to tell you somethin', but I also need you to listen to me and not freak out.”

“Mkay. Is everything cool? I didn’t freak you out, did I?”

“Perry, Jaime told me about you. Hell, he showed you to me. Then, he told me to wait just like he and I did.”

“Was it a dream?”

“No, I’ve had dreams about him all the time. But since he died, he’s come to me a few times. It was much more than a dream. It was so real. I could feel him. I could touch him. I could see the love we had in his eyes. And he totally had this message for me. He had somethin’ to tell me—somethin’ to help me—to guide me. Three nights ago, he showed me a beautiful boy with the most incredible smile and blue eyes. And I’m freakin’ out here. I’m sure you’re thinkin’ I’m a total nutjob, too.”

“No, Hunter. Everything makes sense now. You see, I’m pretty sure it was three nights ago when I had a dream—a fucking vivid dream like I’ve never had before. That’s when I saw you for the first time. I couldn’t understand why you were so familiar to me last night. Now I get it.”

“Damn. Jaime’s playin’ matchmaker.”

“Ya think?”

“He told me he wanted me to move on—to let go of the sad—he wanted me happy again.”

“And? Are you happy?”

“Happy that I’m here? Yeah. Happy that I met you? Definitely. Not happy that I lost Jaime. He’ll always be a part of me, and I’ll miss him every day I’m on this earth. Happy? When I look at you and see that smile—I’m happier than I’ve been in a long, long time.”

We continued talking and finished our lunch. Perry paid for the meal, gave Donna a nicer than average tip, and promised to bring his mother in the next time.

We decided to continue our talk on the beach. So Perry and I drove to a beachside park, took off our shoes, and began walking East. We played in the water, threw shells into the ocean, held hands, chased each other, and generally had a great afternoon.

We made it back to the car a little after 3:00 and headed to the high school. As we were waiting for Vic to get off work, I looked at Perry and held his face in my hands.

“Do you realize how fuckin' special you are?”

“I’m not all that, Hunter. I mean—really?!?”

“If you were just a normal, hot, sexy, cute boy—we so would have been in bed already, and I promise you we woulda fucked at least three times by now. I’m pretty much a horn-dog. But Jaime told me to wait—that I would know when the time was right. And for the record? I’m glad I listened to him for a change.”

I leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Perry’s lips. “Are you ready for an adventure? Do you think you can handle this cowboy?”

“Hunter, since you kissed me last night, I knew something was special. Different, even. I woke up this morning, and the first thing I thought of was you. It brought a feeling of peace to me—and morning wood like I’ve never experienced before. My adventure started last night, Hunter. I’m buckled up and ready for the ride of a lifetime.”

We were brought back to earth by a rapping on the window. “Let me in, lovebirds!” I unlocked the doors, and Vic climbed into the backseat. “Hunter—why is my pool boy sitting in the front seat with you?” Vic winked at Perry.

“We had lunch together downtown. Then we walked for about an hour on the beach. Then it was time to come get you.” I winked at Vic.

“Is something going on here? Have you guys still not fucked?”

“Yep—and nope. We’ll talk when we get home, k?”

“Well, let’s stop and pick up some steaks and stuff for dinner. I want to break in my grill. Perry? You going to have dinner with us?”

“If that’s okay.” Perry didn’t take his eyes off me.

“Hey! Pool boy! I’m back here. You can look at me!” Perry still didn’t take his eyes off me.

Vic chuckled and gave me directions to the grocery store, where we picked up three t-bone steaks, three yams for baking, and some broccoli.

We all pitched in with the meal preparation, and in less than an hour, we were out on the patio, enjoying a wonderful dinner. While we ate, Perry and I shared with Vic our stories about Jaime’s matchmaking.

“So, I’m gonna take his advice. I’m gonna take my time and get to know this amazin’ boy.”

“And I’m going to take my time and try to figure out what the fuck this cowboy is saying whenever he talks!”

“Hey! That’s not fair! Y’all have the freaky accents! I don’t have one!”

Vic looked over to Perry and grinned, “Welcome to my world, Perry. You ready to tame this cowboy?”

“More than you know, Vic. More than you know!”

Yay! I’m gonna get tamed! Thank you, Jaime!