Take the Long Road Home - 9. Chapter 9

MILES

There are times in our lives when the wheels of destiny are set into motion, and we don’t even realize it. Looking back, I can see now that it happened for Troy and me midway through our junior year. We fell stupidly, irrevocably, and deeply in love. Once those wheels start moving, sometimes they’re impossible to stop.

The weekend we made the room switch with Meg was a lot of hard work, but we had so much fun. Erik took pity on us and recruited Carson, Nole, and Pete to help. He even pitched in to put together my new furniture. By the time we sat down to Sunday dinner, we were a tired but happy crew.

I loved my new room, although not sleeping next to Troy was unsettling. I had become used to the soft sounds he made in his sleep and the warmth of his body next to mine. We decided, with Erik’s approval, that weekends and school holidays would be allowed for sleeping in the same room. Sometimes we slept in his; other times, mine. We kept our promise to Troy’s dad and held off on serious stuff. When we got horny, we’d escape to the loft in one of the barns and give each other hand jobs or blow jobs. Needless to say, we were there every day.

The holidays were the best I've ever had. Mrs. P cooked like a madwoman for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Troy’s dad surprised us with snowmobiles for Christmas. Even Meg got one, though she wasn’t allowed out on it without an adult. The ranch already had two snowmobiles for general use, and that winter we saw a lot of snow. Every weekend was spent blazing trails throughout the property. Nole even got Mrs. P to take a spin. She surprised us all by opening up the throttle as soon as she hit the first wide-open stretch of land, whooping and hollering the whole way.

In February, we had a long weekend with Presidents’ Day off and an extra day for teachers’ continuing education. I now know that the weekend was the turning point for us.

On Friday, after the dismissal bell had rung sweet freedom, Troy slung his backpack over his shoulder and slammed his locker shut. “Hey, how about we take the sleds and spend a night or two at the cabin?”

I hadn’t thought about the secluded little place since the fall round-up. “Won’t it be too cold?”

“Pfft. No. Nole and Pete stocked the wood shed before the first snow fell. They do every year. Dad insists on it in case anyone ever needs emergency shelter. There’s fresh canned goods too, but we can raid the pantry.”

I couldn’t find any fault with that. “Sounds good to me. Will your dad be okay with it?”

Troy shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We haven’t gone back on our word. I’m still alright with what we've been doing, but don’t you want to be able to make a little noise?”

I laughed. He had a point. It wasn’t easy staying quiet when your balls felt like they were exploding.

Saturday morning, after a reminder lecture from Erik on keeping our promise, Troy and I threw some clean clothes and toiletries into a duffel bag, then headed for the kitchen, where Mrs. P had already set out some containers with pre-cooked, frozen meals. All we would need to do was heat them up. We stocked up on junk food to balance out the bag of fruit Mrs. P slid towards us.

Troy grabbed the emergency kit that Erik insisted anyone who left the ranch on snowmobiles had to take with them. Better safe than sorry.

We said goodbye to Troy’s dad before we left and wished him luck. Meg was having three of her friends spend the weekend. It would be teenage girly mayhem. We were glad to be missing it.

It took a few minutes to don all of our outdoor gear. The temperature had dropped into the teens, and the wind chill on snowmobiles would be brutal. Luckily, in addition to the sleds, Erik had also gotten each of us a full set of protective gear: below-zero-rated snow pants and jackets, thermal underwear, thick socks, winter boots, protective gloves, and full face-shield helmets. I felt like Maggie Simpson when Marge put her in a snowsuit. It was hard to move, but we were warm.

The ride to the cabin was exhilarating. We made it before noon, got our supplies inside, and secured the snowmobiles under the lean-to. Troy made quick work of starting a fire while I unpacked our stuff. We were happy when the generator fired up on the first try. It wasn’t long before the cabin warmed up enough to shed some of our layers.

I drank in the sight of Troy standing there in his thermal underwear. There was something to be said for the rugged lumberjack look. I knew the look in my eyes was predatory as I stalked across the room.

When our lips met, it wasn’t soft nor gentle. It was pure heat that only horny sixteen-year-old boys could produce. I pushed against Troy until the back of his knees hit the bed, and he tumbled onto it with me falling on top of him with a grunt. I felt his hard dick rub against mine. I almost came right there.

Troy pulled at my undershirt, and I pushed myself up long enough to rip it off while he did the same. His lean muscles fit perfectly against me as we picked up where we left off— trying to suck each other's faces off. Instinctively, our hips moved, rubbing against each other. It was too much, yet not enough.

I gasped when Troy thrust his hand down my thermals and squeezed me. Oh fucking hell, that felt good. As quickly as we had shed our tops, we shed our bottoms. This was the first time we were completely skin-to-skin. It felt amazing.

We were clumsy as we explored new territory. It was difficult not to take things further than we’d gone before. Hormones were a powerful motivator, and when my fingers discovered new areas of Troy’s gorgeous body, I had to wonder if we were going too far.

Regardless of what did or didn’t count as penetrative, Troy came hard and I followed him into the blissful abyss seconds later. We didn’t hold back on being vocal either. I wouldn’t have bben surprised if all the wildlife within two miles of our little love shack didn’t scatter because of the noise we made.

As we lay together, spent and boneless, Troy’s tender kisses to my face made me melt. It took a while before either of us could move. Finally, he smiled and swung his legs off the bed.

“Come on,” he said. “I’m hungry.”

“When aren’t you?”

Troy grinned. “When I’m sleeping.”

I tossed the dirty towel at him, which he easily dodged. The cabin was warm now, so I grabbed two pairs of boxers from our bag and threw one his way.

Troy held up two plastic containers. “Do you want chicken enchiladas or pulled pork?”

“Enchiladas.”

He popped them into the small microwave, and five minutes later, the tantalizing aroma of chicken and spices filled the small space. Mrs. P’s cooking skills could not be disputed.

“What do you want to do this afternoon?” I asked.

Troy leered at me. “You.”

I laughed. It didn’t sound like a bad idea.

We ate our enchiladas and cleaned up the mess before heading back to bed for some more fun. In the afterglow of our second orgasm, Troy rested his head on my chest, and I pulled the thick comforter over us.

He toyed with the sparse few hairs I had on my chest. “What do you want to do after we graduate next year?”

I hummed. “I haven’t really thought about it. I guess we should start thinking about college and where we should apply.”

It warmed me when I felt him smile into my pecs.

“‘We,’ huh?” he said. “What makes you think I want to go to college with you?”

“We jacked off together, why not go to college together too?”

Troy sighed. I felt a slight tension in him that hadn’t been there before. “What if I don’t want to go to college?”

I tilted his head so he could look at me. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t really know. I’m just tired of being told what to learn. Why do I need to take stuff like Sociology if I’m just going to be taking over the ranch someday?”

“Do you feel like your dad is pressuring you to take over the ranch?”

Troy shook his head. “Dad would never do that. But I do feel like if I don’t, then he’ll be disappointed in me. The ranch is in my blood. It’s all I’ve known.”

“Then maybe college would be a good thing. You could take some elective courses to see what you like before deciding on a major. If you don’t find anything that interests you, then you can always drop out and go back to the ranch. You could even take a year or two and travel the world. Your dad wouldn’t judge you for it.”

“I know. Maybe we can do that together. What do you want to do?”

There was a time when I dreamt big. I had never shared my secret with anyone before, and I hesitated for a moment. “I want to see the world. I used to read all the time. It was one of the few things I could do without my uncle bothering me. My favorite books were stories set in other countries. Until this year, I didn’t realize how much existed outside of Ohio.”

“A wandering nomad, huh?”

I grinned. “Maybe. So, if you could do anything, anything at all, and not have to worry about who was going to run the ranch, what would you want to do?”

Troy bit his bottom lip. “Draw. I’d want to draw. I used to love taking some paper and colored pencils outside and drawing whatever I saw.”

His muscles pulled tighter at his confession. I sensed that the guilt he felt over being heir to the ranch weighed more heavily than even he realized.

“Are you any good?” I asked.

Troy blushed, a soft pink hue creeping up his neck and cheeks. “I won a statewide ad campaign Wyoming had for high school students the year before Tyson died. They wanted a new design for their tourism slogan, ‘The Heart of It All’.”

“That’s awesome! You’ll have to show me when we get back to the land of Wi-Fi.”

We spent the rest of the day cuddling and watching some action movies Troy had downloaded onto a tablet. We fell asleep curled up in each other’s arms.

Sunday morning dawned clear and bright, if not a bit cold. We decided after breakfast to brave the chill and go for a ride. We topped off the fuel tanks from a twenty-five-gallon drum that was kept in the lean-to on the opposite side of the generator. Nole and Pete made sure it was kept full and swapped out the fuel if it sat unused all season. Troy stowed his hunting rifle as a precaution. Bears were usually hibernating, but occasionally a cougar or bobcat would make itself known. They could be aggressive in the late winter months when prey was scarce. Troy told me that Carson had a close call a few years ago, not far from the house.

Being out in the wilderness was exhilarating. Growing up in modern suburbia was okay, but now that I’ve experienced the great outdoors as it was meant to be, I have a much better appreciation of Troy and everyone else on the ranch. They worked hard and played harder.

Ice-cold wind buffeted us as it came off the mountains into our valley. I was so grateful for the facemask that protected me from the biting cold. My wrists stung a bit because I had long arms, and my sleeves were a tad too short. There was a half-inch gap between my jacket and gloves that I couldn’t bridge, no matter how many times I tugged at them.

It was a small price to pay for the fun we were having. Troy slowed down, then came to a stop. As I pulled up next to him, he pointed to a large herd of elk in the distance. The winds had swept a vast area of grass clean, and they were making the most of the unexpected windfall. After watching them for a few minutes, we were on our way, giving them a wide berth.

The elk weren’t the only wildlife out and about. Occasionally, we saw the quick movement of a rabbit hightailing it away from us. Overhead, we could make out a few eagles soaring on the drafts of wind.

After a couple of hours, we headed back, finally feeling the chill through our clothes. It was a relief to see the cabin come into view. We put the sleds away and stomped the snow from our boots before going inside. I stoked the fire and added wood before shedding our outer layers. Troy put some soup in the microwave while I made hot chocolate, with extra mini marshmallows, of course.

The soup and hot chocolate did their job, warming us from the inside, while the fire generated enough heat to take the chill off our skin.

It was the heated look Troy gave me that did me in. I pushed back from the little table and reached for his hand.

“Take me to bed,” he demanded. There was nothing I could deny him.

Slowly, I stripped the remaining clothes from his body, and he did the same for me. My cock got harder with every inch of his skin I exposed. I knew I wanted more than what we had been doing, but I wouldn’t betray the trust his dad had given us. There was something else I wanted to try. Instead of heading for the bed, I pulled us toward the tiny shower. It was a tight fit, but we made it work.

I knew the hot water tank was small, so I moved fast, lathering his body and then mine. He gasped when I slid a soapy finger between his ass cheeks.

“Is this okay?” I asked.

“Y-yeah.”

I continued exploring, running the pad of my finger over the wrinkled skin. It was a heady feeling when he did his best to push back against me in the confined space. I held my breath as I slipped the tip of my finger inside him, and he clenched around me. Much to my surprise, I felt his finger do the same to me. We didn’t get to do much more as the water started to turn tepid. I quickly rubbed his crack a few times, and we were barely rinsed when the hot water gave up its last breath and turned cold.

Troy shut off the water, and I grabbed two towels to dry off with. Then, it was time for part two. I led a naked and shivering Troy back to the bed and quickly covered us up before kissing him like he was everything I needed— which he was.

We made out until we were warm again. I pulled back and asked, “Do you trust me?”

My heart soared when he answered, “With my life.”

I was nervous just thinking about what I wanted to do, hoping we would both like it. I gave him a sweet peck on his kiss-swollen lips, then blazed a trail up and down each side of his neck. I worshiped his chest with tiny kisses and little nips. It pleased me to no end when I flicked his nipple with my tongue and felt his pre-cum smear my belly. Heat pooled deep within me as he caressed my head.

Troy had slightly more hair on his chest than I did, and by that I mean he had maybe thirty sporadic hairs to my twenty. I gently pulled them as I kissed my way down to his happy trail. When I got to his groin, I sucked hard just above his hip bone.

His fingers tightened in my hair. “Jesus fucking Christ!”

I sucked harder and smiled when I saw the deep reddish-purple bruise. Mine.

His cock was now leaking copiously. I gripped the base of his cock and buried my nose in the crease between his leg and balls, deeply inhaling his musky, soapy scent. Troy and I kept our pubes trimmed short, and his balls were nearly hairless. I took one in my mouth and gently rolled my tongue around it.

Troy bucked beneath me, nearly throwing me off. I placed a hand on his lower belly to hold him down while I gave attention to the other ball. His breath came in short pants, and he cried, “Oh, god, I’m gonna cum!”

I grabbed the base of his cock and squeezed hard, while at the same time using my mouth to pull harder on his ball sack. It did the trick, and he didn’t cum.

“What the hell, Miles?”

“Shh, just wait.”

I let him calm down for a few minutes before continuing. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I scooted further down between his legs and pushed his knees back. He resisted for a moment; I assumed because he was embarrassed to expose himself to me. I shushed him again and kissed his balls before slowly dragging my tongue over his taint.

“Miles?”

I lifted my head. “I’ll stop if you want me to.”

He shook his head. I took his permission as a gift and planted my face in his ass. I didn’t know what to expect when I finally licked his hole, but the whole-body shiver that ran through him was reward enough. I did what I had imagined someone doing to me. I sucked and nibbled at him like a condemned prisoner scarfing down his last meal. When I poked my tongue past his tight entrance, Troy screamed. When I say screamed, I mean he damn near rattled the window.

I groped for the lube I had tossed on the bed earlier and clumsily coated my finger as best I could with one hand. The other was still holding Troy down. I gave him one more lingering kiss in his most intimate place before sliding my index finger into his tight heat. Holy smokes, now I was the one shaking.

“Miles, Miles, Miles.” Troy’s scream had become a reverent whisper, saying my name over and over like a holy mantra.

I took a chance and slid my finger in further. This wasn’t the same as penetrative sex, right? God, I hoped not. I’m pretty sure using one’s finger was not the same as sticking one's dick in there. That’s my loophole, and I’m sticking to it. Troy clenched down hard at the intrusion, so I stopped.

Troy hissed. “Keep going. I need more.”

Millimeter by millimeter, I kept going until I felt something softer than the rest of him. Tentatively, I rubbed the spot. Troy’s back arched, and he exploded, completely untouched. I grabbed my cock, and all it took was one stroke for me to fall over the edge with him. This time, we both screamed.

As Troy and I came down off our endorphin-induced high, I crawled back up the mattress and wrapped my arms around him.

In that moment, every single tumbler clicked into place around the lock he had on my heart.

I was in love. I was so screwed.