Lariats and Lacrosse Sticks - 1. Chapter 1

Randy pulled the blankets and sheet over his head, wrapping his pillow tight around his face and ears, as he tried to escape the ghastly sounds and stench of his roommate's latest alcoholic binge. Randy's roommate was making him reconsider his decision to come to Oklahoma. He'd picked the school due in part to the fact that he'd been awarded several small scholarships, but truthfully the main reason was the chance to play college lacrosse. Lacrosse had been the one stable thing in his life, his parents having divorced when he was young. He'd lived with his mom until he was in seventh grade and he became too much for her to handle, at least that was the story she told his dad.

Actually it had been her last futile attempt at revenge for the failed marriage that was as much her fault as his dad's. Randy always suspected that she'd married his dad because she thought the Preston name still meant old money in Maryland. Unfortunately for her, the name was about all the family had left, having sold off bits and pieces of the home place over the years. His dad had been forced to sell off most of the remaining property to pay the divorce settlement. So now the Preston fortune consisted of 15 acres and an old tenant house where his dad lived.

Randy and his dad made a little extra money by boarding a few horses for wealthy newcomers in the area. Randy always felt bad for the horses, who were there mainly to give their owners the chance to work into dinner conversation that they owned a steeplechase horse, but most of them never rode their horses. Randy had taken it on himself to make sure they all got the best of care, including frequent rides. The extra attention showed, which didn't hurt their business at all.

Randy was brought back to the horrendous current situation by a final gag from the bathroom and the sound of the toilet flushing. He watched as Steve staggered into the room and toward his part of the room. Randy was glad their beds were as far apart as possible, because he could smell the booze oozing out of Steve's pores from across the room. Ramming his shins into the metal bed frame, Steve muttered an oath and fell into his bed. Randy hoped he had passed out, but soon discovered luck wasn't on his side tonight.

"Oh god, I'm dyin'. Shit, I don't know what's wrong. Damn, Randy. I feel like shit," said Steve.

Randy punched the button on his phone, only to find out it was just after 3am. Furious, he turned on his roommate, "It's fuck'n three in the morning, you asshole! You're fuck'n drunk again is what's wrong! Goddamn it, you lush!"

Steve moaned and rolled to his side, puking onto the floor just before passing out. Randy covered his face with the pillow to keep from gagging. This time he knew he had to find a solution to Steve.

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"He just puked on the floor and left it? Dude! You gotta do something."

"I know! No sleep last night, and I had a test today! I gotta find somewhere else to live. That damn Steve is kill'n me!" said Randy with some heat.

Tanner was sitting quietly in the commons area, clearly hearing the conversation going on a few chairs away. He knew the two guys casually, enough to warrant a nod and a smile when they passed each other. Tanner thought both of them were on one of the college athletic teams, but he wasn't sure which one. The taller guy, Randy, he knew a little better. They'd arrived a few hours before everyone else during move-in day and had chatted a little bit. Tanner knew he was from back east somewhere, but he didn't seem to have the typical Yankee attitude.

From what he heard of the conversation, Randy's roommate was a nightmare. He could sympathize with roommate trouble since his roommate, Josiah, might be a close race with Randy's for worst in the dorm. First, Josiah was what could only be classified as ultra-religious, and worse, his interpretation of the bible was so draconian that he had already been banned from all university organizations for racist and sexist remarks.

But unlike Randy, Tanner had found out a week or so ago that his luck was improving, Josiah was leaving the university to go to a small Christian school in Georgia. Personally Tanner wasn't sure if any place was conservative enough for Josiah, but he didn't really care so long as he didn't have to endure his narrow-minded bigotry. His dad had always told him that if you couldn't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Tanner didn't talk much about Josiah.

Tanner had been a little bummed to ended up here anyway, not because there was anything wrong with the university, but it wasn't State. Tanner wanted to be a veterinarian, and State had the only vet school in the state. But he needed to stay closer to home so he could help his parents and sister when they needed it, so he was taking his pre-vet classes here. He'd hoped to make some friends, but Tanner also needed to be cautious about who he let into his life. He was gay, and he'd realized it a number of years ago, but he hadn't shared that information with anyone. His family wasn't extremely religious, but they were conservative. His dad almost had a stroke each time a Democrat became President, and when he'd went home after the first few weeks with a soul patch his dad had told him to go wash the dirt off his lip, so he wasn't sure how the news that his only son was gay would be received. Someday Tanner would tell them, but he wasn't ready right now. Tanner was brought out of his introspection by the sound of his name.

"Hey. Tanner. Didn't crazy religious boy leave the university? You have that room to yourself?"

Tanner turned in the chair and looked back at the two young men, "What?"

"Your roommate, the religious nut, he left?"

"Yup, left for that church school in Georgia. I'm not sorry either. He was making me crazy with all his bible thumping," said Tanner.

"Well you otta let Randy move in! He could dump his alkie roomie, and you don't get housing sticking you with another weirdo."

Tanner looked at Randy and smiled warmly, but inside he was concerned. This guy was sex on two legs. Josiah had been easy to deal with in that way, Tanner would sooner hump a cow than make-out with Josiah. But Randy, well he was a very different matter. And even if the athlete wasn't straight, he was way out of Tanner's league.

Randy locked eyes with Tanner and wanted to melt. He'd seen him at least once a day on the floor, and made a point to speak to him. Randy's experience with other guys was limited to a lacrosse teammate back in Maryland. They'd gotten buzzed one night while they were in high school and had messed around. It had freaked both of them out at first, but they'd decided so long as they kept it to themselves, it was fine. So they'd had a few other fuck buddy moments before he'd moved to Oklahoma. But other than Blake, no one knew. Certainly no one here, he didn't want to jeopardize his spot on the team by being out.

In Randy's opinion, Tanner was any gay boys wet dream of a cowboy. He had an amazing bubble butt that was always wrapped in tight Wranglers and his body was lean and muscular with a great tan from being outside. Tanner's dark brown eyes and long dark lashes were just a few of the highlights of the young man. But Randy was sure he wouldn't even make Tanner's top 10 list of potential boyfriends. He'd taken too many lacrosse sticks across the face for him to be noticed by someone as good looking as Tanner. But he could still enjoy the scenery, and Tanner was amazing scenery.

"Hello! Earth to Randy, earth to Tanner!"

Both men jumped. Realizing what happened, they smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, sure. Sounds good. I guess we need to tell the RA, but I can help you move tonight," said Tanner.

"Oh dude! I so owe you! Sure, we can move me after practice tonight. Man, no more puking roommate!"

Both guys chuckled, looking forward to a new, but perhaps trying, friendship.

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Tanner dropped the last of Randy's stuff on his side of the room. He was having some second thoughts about his impulsive agreement to take Randy as a roommate. Not because of anything Randy was doing on purpose, just that he was so incredibly sexy. Tanner didn't know how life would be if he had to hang around their room with a constant erection due to Randy and his smoking hot good looks. But once he was able to get his mind off Randy's body, he realized he was starting to enjoy a pleasant camaraderie with the blond.

Even though it was October, the typically unpredictable Oklahoma weather had decided to revert back to summer heat, and both of them were soaked with sweat. Moving out of the way when Randy came through the door with his arms full, Tanner pulled his t-shirt off and tossed it into his laundry. Walking over, he closed their door then collapsed on his bed and watched as Randy began putting away some of his stuff. Tanner rolled to his stomach, reached down to the dorm fridge beside his bed and popped it open. Reaching in, he pulled out an icy pop. He looked up at Randy, "Hey Randy, you wanna Coke?"

"Sure!" said Randy. He plopped on the bed and lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, giving Tanner a nice view of his lightly furred stomach. Tanner enjoyed the muscular view as long as he thought it was safe, looking away just in time. As he tried to recover his slightly ruffled composure, he realized he hadn't gotten Randy the drink. Reaching back in, he grabbed a bottle and tossed it to Randy.

"This is root beer," said Randy with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"You asked me if I wanted a Coke."

Tanner thought a second, then started chuckling, "Coke is southern Oklahoman for pop. Sorry, I should get you an Okie dictionary if we're gonna live together."

Randy opened the bottle and chuckled, "Might not be a bad idea."

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Tanner was lying on his bed reading through the assignment for tomorrow's class, when the door opened and Randy walked in with a bulging equipment bag in one hand, and his stick in the other. Tossing his equipment inside his closet, he collapsed across his bed.

"Damn, I'm exhausted. The coach was trying to kill us today. My ass is dragging," said Randy as he exhaled loudly.

Tanner closed his book and sat up, only to realize he had been studying for hours and it was long past their normal time for supper. The two young men had gotten into the habit of eating together and now it was a ritual of their friendship. In spite of the happenstance way they had become roommates, they had discovered they had a lot in common. Much more than either had suspected.

Tanner stretched his cramped muscles, working out the kinks from the hours he had sat studying, unaware he was creating an erotic show for Randy. The fact that they both enjoyed wearing as little as possible when they were in the room gave Randy frequent opportunities to admire Tanner's muscular body. As the basketball shorts Tanner was wearing slid down to show the top of his pubic hair, Randy got to admire his work-toned chest and flat stomach with its faint abdominal lines and light dusting of hair. The whole package was a potent aphrodisiac for Randy.

The bulge in Tanner's shorts looked good too, reminding Randy of mornings when Tanner had thought he was asleep and had dashed to the bathroom with his cock jutting out from his crotch, obscenely stretching the cotton midway briefs to their limit. Those early morning displays had also given Randy another piece of information, Tanner was definitely cut, the ridge of his plum-sized cockhead left no doubt in Randy's mind. Unfortunately for Randy the display in front of him only lasted a few seconds longer before Tanner dropped his arms back to his sides and grinned at him.

"Come on, drag ass, get the stink washed off so we can go to campus corner. I want to splurge and have an Okie Monster," said Tanner with a grin.

Randy smiled back at his roommate, ripped off his shirt and tossed it at Tanner, "You love my stink, I know it fuck'n turns you on, you perv. And those damn Okie Monsters are going to make you fat if you don't quit eating 'em."

"No I'm not, 'cause you keep dragging me to the gym. Between all the damn running and your 'kick my ass' workout routines there's no way I'll gain weight. Besides, Okie Monsters are delicious, like a Frito Chili Pie on steroids!" said Tanner with a chuckle. "Now, get your ass showered 'cause I'm starving!"

Randy grinned and flipped Tanner off, stripped down to his compression shorts and walked into the bathroom. Tanner watched him with a smile, his eyes locked on Randy's tight bubble butt. He loved Randy's muscular ass and gawked at it every time he got the chance. It was a sensual show for Tanner each time Randy took a step, he'd never seen a butt flex like Randy's did when he took a step. Just watching him walk had Tanner flushing with sexual arousal. And the compression shorts just made the show even more tantalizing. Tanner could see the outline of Randy's soft cock each time, giving Tanner fresh jackoff material. But nothing compared to those few times Randy had thought he was asleep and had made a rush for the bathroom with his morning hardon leading the way. Those times he saw Randy's hard cock straining against the confines of his compression shorts had Tanner grabbing his own cock in response. Randy was so sexy, Tanner didn't understand why there were not a harem of girls hanging all over him. When he'd broached the subject, Randy told him that school and lacrosse came first, they were his focus.

Tanner frowned a little as the erotic show ended when Randy closed the bathroom door. With a lusty grin, he picked up the sweat soaked shirt Randy had thrown at him and pressed it against his face. Inhaling deeply, Tanner's cock stiffened when Randy's sweaty, masculine scent curled through his nose. Taking deep breaths through the pheromone laced cloth; Tanner was soon groping his achingly hard cock through his shorts. With each inhalation, he plunged deeper and deeper in the fantasy of sex with stunningly handsome Randy. His mind drifted to sensations that he could only imagined as the scent of his dream man wafted through the air. Suddenly, he noticed the shower was off and he heard footsteps in the bathroom.

Tanner frantically threw the shirt back to the floor and launched himself into his bed, hoping he could hide his rampant erection. The door opened as he landed, with Randy picking up the conversation as if it had never stopped.

"I'm telling you, that shit is not good for you. The cheese and chili alone will clog up your arteries and you'll croak off before you're 30. I'll pick you out something at least kind of healthy. There's other stuff on the menu besides the junk that you like," said Randy as he walked into the room.

"No! I don't like that crap. You know how I feel about veggies, especially that damn kale that you love. It's all nasty, and you're never going to convince me otherwise," said Tanner as he crawled off his bed, snagged a relatively clean shirt from the floor and pulled it on.

Tanner lost the thread of the conversation when Randy dropped his towel and turned his bare ass to Tanner as he rifled through his dresser for clean underwear. Distantly, Tanner knew Randy was still going on and on about him needing to eat better, but Tanner couldn't have told anyone what was said. He was fixated on Randy's thick defined legs and the fur that swirled up them and then spread across his ass. When he reached in to grab a pair from the back of the drawer, Tanner caught the distinctive pink flash of Randy's hole. But the vision was obliterated when Randy stood up and pulled on a pair of dark red briefs, then turned to Tanner.

"What's wrong, dude. You look stoned," said Randy with a grin.

Tanner quickly tried to recover, "That's bullshit, dude, and you know it. You're the stoner!" teased Tanner.

"Yeah, right. With my luck I'd get caught in one of the NCAA's random piss tests and would be out on my ear."

"They'd let you off the hook just because you look so good," said Tanner with a smile.

Randy pulled on his pants and quickly yanked a clean hoodie over his head. Laughing as his head started through, he stopped with his head half way through the hoodie opening and turned to Tanner with a goofy look on his face. "Yeah, I'm fuck'n hot. Look at me, I'm an uncut penis!"

Tanner cracked up as his roomie started making fish-lips with the hoodie still only half way down his head.

"You goof! Come on, I'm starved," said Tanner as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

Randy chuckled as he grabbed his phone, wallet and keys, shoving them into his pockets. He frowned slightly as he noticed his sweaty jersey was on the other side of the room from where he threw it at Tanner, but the thought disappeared when he heard Tanner yelling from down the hall for him to move his ass. Randy took off at a sprint and quickly caught up with his roommate, continuing the verbal harangue about healthy eating as Tanner rolled his eyes.

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It was only a few days before the beginning of the spring semester, but Randy had been on campus almost a week already. The lacrosse coaches had called them back early to practice in preparation for the season, which started in a month. The intense two-a-day schedule had shredded Randy's thighs for the first several days, but now they were only slightly sore. The first few days of practice had left Randy so exhausted that he was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow, but those days were behind him, now he was bored.

If he were completely honest with himself, he missed Tanner. The handsome cowboy made Randy's cock stiff every time he thought about him. This time when his memory started the blood pumping, Randy let the fantasy continue, imagining what it would be like to date Tanner. He fantasized them attending college sporting events, concerts, quiet dinners out, and raucous dinners in. His mind put them in all the situations heterosexual couples experience, but as his cock stiffened, he naturally drifted into what would be the intimate side of their relationship.

Randy's hand drifted down his chest as he imagined waking up curled against Tanner, their bare skin touching along the length of their bodies. Randy closed his eyes and let his finger tips caress his hard nipples as he imagined their soft good morning kiss as they woke. Randy visualized the intimate details of the encounter, their gentle kiss progressing to a hard passion-filled prelude. He slipped his hand inside his shorts and started foundling his low hanging nuts. The fantasy faded to faint impressions as the immediacy of Randy's self-exploration overrode everything else.

Randy looked up, checking that the door was locked, then slipped off his shorts and sprawled naked across his bed. With his thick legs spread wide, Randy let his hand drift between them, sliding through the dense hair between his legs. Randy gripped his aching cock hard, groping himself as his fingers rubbed against his perineum.

Soon his hands were darting from one part of his body to another as Randy lost himself in the wonderful sensations. Randy liked the feel of his hand traveling over his lightly haired chest, and then dipping into the dense hair surrounding his ample cock and low hanging nuts. Lifting one hand to his lips, he sucked on a finger, coating it with spit. Letting it drop back between his legs, he let the saliva-coated finger rub against his hole. Randy had discovered this forbidden delight years ago, but had never shared the knowledge with anyone.

Randy slowly slipped the wet finger into his ass, his fantasy rocketing forward as he imagined Tanner fucking his butt. His thick, blunt finger bumped against his prostate and Randy let out a soft moan. As his finger slid out, his ass gripped it tightly, sending vibrations of lust shimmering through him.

But quickly he hit a rhythm that caused his body to shake with ecstasy. With his finger wedged deep inside his gut, Randy was pounding his throbbing cock. The wet sound of his precum-coated cock ramming through his fist created an erotic symphony that ran through Randy's system.

"Oh, oh, oh fuck!" moaned Randy as his orgasm began. The first belch of cream instantly created a pool of cum that mingled with his pubic hair, each shot after served to cover his pelvis with a thick coat of marbled white cream. Randy tensed and released with each spasm of his body, his cum flowing from his twitching cock like white lava. At last, with a final toe curling crescendo, Randy's climax ended.

He collapsed onto bed, his lower body covered with a mass of jizz. Unwittingly his fingers trailed through the pools as they liquefied and began running across his body. With his eyes closed and his breathing still rapid, Randy lifted his semen covered fingers to his lips and cleaned each one of his seed, wishing as he did that it was Tanner's cock he was cleaning of cum.

Eventually the January cold crept into the room, reminding Randy that he was lying nude and covered with spunk. With a smile, he grabbed a towel he'd dropped beside the bed after an earlier shower and wiped the thickest pools from his body. Tossing the used towel into his pile of dirty clothes, he pushed himself off the bed and slowly made his way to the shower.

As he kicked the bathroom door shut, he smiled to himself and wished again that he could share this part of his life with Tanner.

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Marc was walking rapidly back to his dorm. He hadn't intended to be out as late as he was, but he'd been in the library working on a paper. His girlfriend had texted to check on him a few minutes ago, and made him realize how late it was. He'd left the library with the paper consuming his focus, but now he had started walking faster, having an uncomfortable feeling that some guys were following him. In spite of his increased speed, it felt like they were keeping up with him. Suddenly, they were gone, and he breathed a sigh of relief, just before he rounded a corner and was grabbed. Struggling silently, Marc realized there were three men, two holding him and a third who was standing menacingly in front of him.

"You damn fag! Fuck'n queer!" said one, quickly followed by a punch to Marc's midsection.

"Oh god!" gasped out Marc. "I'm not gay. Come on guys, Please leave me alone," said Marc between spasms of pain from his stomach. Suddenly Marc felt the hands holding him tighten.

"Come on! Let me go!" screamed Marc.

Without a word, Marc suddenly felt another punch sink into his stomach. His body curled as he tried to protect himself, hanging from his pinned arms. Eventually, he was just trying to survive the beating he was getting as punch after punch rained on his body. Suddenly released, he fell on the grass, writhing and gasping in pain. Dimly aware of one attacker drawing his foot back, Marc tried to escape the kick, but his damaged body wouldn't respond. He felt the boot drive into his side, and the sickening snap as ribs broke.

Marc lay on the lawn, gasping for air with a trickle of blood leaking from the side of his mouth. The attacker grabbed him by the hair, pulled his head back and spit in his face. "Fuckin perverts, this'll teach you fuckin' fags to fuckin' stay away from real men." Marc saw a huge fist draw back, then punch him in the face, which was his last conscious thought for quite some time.

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Both men's phones started buzzing at the same time, marking the arrival of new text messages. Tanner looked at Randy as he grabbed his phone and they both started reading. It was a message from the university announcing that an undergraduate had been attacked on campus and was hospitalized in fair condition. The message went on to say that the assault was being investigated as a hate crime. Tanner quickly scanned the rest of the message for details, but it was the typical appeal for any witnesses to come forward and what steps the university was doing to keep everyone safe.

Tanner looked up just in time to see Randy's grim face as he finished. Randy looked up with a frown on his face.

"What the fuck? I thought this was a safe campus. I hope the guy's alright," said Tanner.

"I know. But what're we gonna do? I don't know about you but I'd like to go out and give the bastards a taste of their own medicine," said Randy through gritted teeth.

As they were trying to absorb it all, Tanner's remembered that his phone had buzzed again while he was reading. As he pulled up the new text, Randy's email chimed. They both read through the messages. With a deep sigh Tanner said, "Someone thinks jocks beat up a gay guy."

"One of the guys on the team just got confronted by a bunch of students outside the student union. They thought jocks were responsible too."

"Oh shit . . ." said Tanner with a sigh.

The rest of the day was a flurry of messages flying across campus as blame and accusation became the communication style of the day. Allegations against student athletes expanded in spite of an appeal from the campus gay community for calm. The widespread blame of student athletes, in spite of many calls to wait for the facts to be given, infuriated Randy. Eventually the uproar became so tumultuous that another communication was issued by the university asking for calm while police conducted their investigation.

As the afternoon wore on, Randy and Tanner became more and more upset. Just when both of them were ready to burst from frustration, buzzes and chimes filled the room, marking the arrival of more incoming communication. Glancing over, Randy began to read, as did Tanner.

"Student Government is calling a rally. The guy is apparently still in the hospital and they want to have a candlelight vigil," said Randy.

Confirming that his text was the same information, Tanner hesitated for a few minutes, then announced, "I'm going. It's important to show him support."

"Hell yes we're going!" said Randy. Then Tanner heard Randy mutter to himself, "If I knew who the fuckers were, I'd give 'em a taste of my stick."

Tanner was slightly surprised that Randy was so adamant about going to the rally. He'd somehow expected some athletic homophobia from his roommate, but he was actually relieved to find out he was wrong. Tanner guessed that most of Randy's reaction was due to the fact that the student athletes were being blamed, but he was still pleased with his reaction. Turning, he grabbed a hoodie and headed toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder to see Randy following him closely with jacket in hand.

The pair raced across campus toward the quad. When they rounded the final corner, they were surprised to see a huge crowd milling around on the lawn. Sticking close to each other, the pair moved through the masses of people, talking with friends and acknowledging acquaintances as they went. What they found was a common anger, a shared disgust and an overarching demand for justice.

Randy was surprised to run into several of his lacrosse team members, who all seemed just as incensed as he was. Tanner stood at Randy's elbow and nodded agreement as each of them expressed their anger over the attack and distress that athletes would be blamed, because none of them could believe any of their teammates would do anything so horrible. There was a part of Randy that was feeling hopeful as he ran into teammate after teammate who were showing their support of the gay student.

By the time they had worked their way to the steps of the administration building, it seemed to Randy that at least half the team was in the crowd. It was a relief that so many of his teammates were supporting the student. He wasn't foolish enough to think it was 100%; there were assholes in every group. But even if some of his teammates were homophobes, they all knew better than to mouth off or do anything on campus.

The pair stood quietly with what seemed to be thousands of other students listening to the president of the university as he announced that three men had been arrested in conjunction with the attack, and none of them were students. The cheer at that announcement was almost as gratifying as the earth shattering response he got when he told the crowd that the student was improving and expected to make a full recovery. The president also indicated the attack was still being investigated as a hate crime because of what was believed to be the attackers intent. He continued on with a general appeal for calm and inclusion on campus. There were a few other brief comments from various administrators, as well as an emphatic commitment to an increased police presence. After the last of the speakers, candles began to magically appear and soon the quad was glowing.

As the crowd began to thin, a girl from one of Randy's classes walked by, and he suddenly remembered that she was a reporter for the school paper. "Hey! Tina," called Randy.

The girl turned and walked over to the pair, "Hey Randy, what's up?"

"Do you know anything about the guy who was attacked?"

"Actually his girlfriend is my roommate. I took her to the hospital last night. He looks awful, has two black eyes and some cracked ribs. But like they said, the doctors think he'll be fine given some time. But those asshole townies gave him a pretty good beating. Apparently they thought he was gay just because he was small, thin and dressed nice. Damn homophobic hicks."

"Thanks Tina, that's great to hear," said Randy with a smile. Randy met Tanner's look and knew they were thinking the same thing. Everyone had been willing to blame the jocks, and now everyone from the area were being marked as brutal, homophobic rednecks. It was a sobering realization for the two freshmen. In a heartbeat the connection between the two had vanished and without another word needing to be shared between them, they made their way through the crowd with extinguished candles in hand.

When they arrived in their room, Tanner silently took Randy's candle and laid it with his on a vacant shelf. Almost reverently to preserve the feeling of the vigil, they pulled out their schoolwork and began to work while their minds tried to reconcile everything that had happened.

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Several days had passed since the attack, and Randy had been watching for news about the student. He had been surprised at the continual support the victim had gotten, and perhaps even more surprised to find such a high level of support for the victim and condemnation of the attackers among his teammates. For Randy this was especially poignant given that everyone had thought the victim was gay. He actually had begun to think about coming out to a few people as a result. But he wasn't sure about the reaction, and he certainly wasn't sure how Tanner would react.

It was one thing to support gay rights, it was quite another to be sleeping in the same room with a gay guy. Randy couldn't help but think it would freak out most men. He was still contemplating the choices and possible repercussions when he heard Tanner slide his key in the door.

Tanner walked in with a smile on his face. "I ran into your friend from class. What's her name? Tanya?"

"You mean Tina? From the rally?" asked Randy.

"Yeah! Tina. Anyway, the guy was released from the hospital today. Apparently everything's going to be fine. They thought he might have some eye damage from the punch to the face, but it tested out fine."

Randy let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God. I'm so glad he's going to be ok."

"Yeah, I thought you might want to know. You old softy," Tanner said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, whatever. But I'm starved. Let me take a whizz, then we can grab something. I'm thinking the new Indian place, I'd love some decent curry," said Randy.

"Curry? Ick," started Tanner.

"Yes, a good Lamb Vindaloo and other shit you wouldn't normally touch, but you will tonight or I'll put my stick up your ass!"

"Oww, I'm so afraid of the badass lacrosse player," teased Tanner.

"Yeah, you better be. Or stick, Tanner's ass, hello!" said Randy with a laugh.

Tanner leaned back in his bed, and thought about the past week, and how supportive Randy had been of the poor guy, even when he thought the victim was gay. Tanner was surprised, by the whole campus actually. But he didn't think he was ready to come out to one of the biggest studs he'd ever seen. He wasn't sure Randy was ready for that little bombshell, not anytime soon anyway.

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Randy and Tanner only grew closer as the semester slipped past. They became inseparable and by the time finals rolled around, they could almost finish each other's sentences. Randy suddenly looked over at Tanner.

"We should move in together," said Randy.

Tanner chuckled, "We already live together, dude."

"No, no," said Randy, waving his hand. "I mean we should get an apartment for next year. We get along better than most roommates, hell, better than most couples I know. I think it would be great."

Tanner contemplated this for a moment, recognizing that he had developed a serious crush on Randy over the past semester, but he decided living in an apartment couldn't make it any worse. Besides, he wasn't sure he could handle not living with Randy.

"Sure, that sounds amazing. We can start looking after finals week. You have some time before you go back to Maryland, don't you? I have to go back home for a few days to help out, but afterwards I can come back to help look," said Tanner.

"Yeah, I've got a week break," said Randy. A smile broke out on his face, "Hey! I could come home with you to the farm and help out. Then we could come back and apartment shop! Whatda ya think?"

Tanner grinned at Randy, "First, it's a ranch, not a farm you illiterate Yankee. We ain't no sod busters!" Tanner chuckled and continued, "No, that sounds great. We can get the calves worked faster with another guy. We can search for apartments online, then once we've narrowed it down, drive back to look at them."

"Outstanding!" said Randy, excited about getting to spend an entire week with Tanner and his family. They sat chatting about the break until Tanner held up his hands.

"Ok, ok. If we don't do well on these tests it won't matter, because our families will kill us. Back to the books."

"Damnit! You're right. Gotta study," agreed Randy.

With that declaration both men refocus on their schoolwork and the impending finals.

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Randy wasn't sure what he had thought "the ranch" was going to be, but several thousand acres of rugged hills and small mountains covered with native grasses that grew to the horses shoulder in places wasn't it. The open spacious countryside was a wonderful mix of native prairie and almost impenetrable timber. Tanner had always talked about his home being in the Arbuckle Mountains, but Randy had equated it to someone from Illinois talking about their ski runs to someone from Colorado, quaint but not really the same thing. These were certainly no Colorado Rockies, but they were challenging in their own way. Randy could see why Tanner said very few people had the fortitude to exist here before modern conveniences came into the area. For Randy, somehow the rugged terrain forged a connection that he wouldn't have thought was possible before experiencing it.

He also found out rather quickly that his hours of riding the trails around his dad's place in Maryland had not prepared him for working cattle from horseback, fortunately he had picked it up fairly quickly. His horse lurched up another steep, brush-covered hillside in search of cattle, while Randy recalled his trip so far. The last few days had been spent scouring the ranch for cattle, and this was the final, and worst, section of the ranch. Fortunately Tanner's Dad had a pair of Blue Heeler's and they were eager to force their square muscular bodies into the heavy brush. Without them, Randy knew this would have taken three times as long.

Tanner waved and caught Randy's attention, signally that he was circling the current thicket and would meet him on the uphill side. As the young cowboy rode away, Randy couldn't help but sigh at his growing feelings for Tanner. His grace on horseback was amazing, and the fact that Randy found him drop dead gorgeous didn't hurt either. More important to Randy, he enjoyed being around Tanner. Randy found that he could talk with Tanner about anything, and pretty much had. Except for the fact that Randy was gay, that was the one topic that he just hadn't been able to bring himself to tackle, he couldn't face the thought of losing the best friend he'd ever had.

Hearing one of the dog's begin to bark, Randy snapped back to the task at hand and watched for any cattle that might erupt from the short trees.

Tanner heard Digger's 'hurry, I found a rat' bark and sighed in frustration. He agreed that the dogs were a help, but he wished his dad would spend more time training them. They were useful; Tanner was willing to admit that, he just thought they had a lot more potential. Catching a last glimpse of Randy before the trees cut off his line of sight, he had to smile. Randy had charmed Tanner's family completely. They had not been happy when they'd found out that Tanner's east coast roommate was coming to the ranch. Their experiences with Easterners were not very positive. They always seemed to think if you were more than an hours drive from New York City or Washington, or even worse if you hadn't at least been to one of those cities, then you were a backward hick.

Tanner thought his family was going to be proven right when Randy introduced himself as Randall Warfield Preston VI, but was relieved when he quickly smiled and followed up by saying that no one actually called him that and if they yelled for Randall, he probably wouldn't know who the heck they wanted. That bit of innocent humor had gotten Randy quite a chuckle from Tanner's family, and it hadn't taken much more to work his way into their hearts.

Randy had worked hard to help wherever he could, and his vibrant personality, combined with a strong work ethic, had quickly finished winning them over. Tanner could tell that he had struggled with the horses at first, but Randy had stuck with it and soon was riding the pastures like he'd been doing it his whole life. That kind of dogged determination was the sort of thing that had allowed Tanner's family to survive in ranching for several generations, so they appreciated it in Randy.

As for Tanner, the incredibly handsome lacrosse player was all he could think about. He was becoming completely and obsessively enamored with Randy. It didn't help that with any opportunity, Randy would strip off his shirt. The combinations of his rock hard chest and muscular torso were enough that Tanner walked around in a near constant state of arousal.

Tanner scolded himself when he almost let a cow and her baby slip past. He needed to focus on what he was doing or not only was it going to take forever, someone would get hurt. They didn't have time for delays this afternoon since they were getting a load of alfalfa hay for the horses, and it had to be stored in the barn in case they had a spring thunderstorm roll in. Tanner's horse jumped as yet another cow tried to make an escape. Tanner scolded himself again, gritted his teeth, focused on the task at hand, and almost immediately horse and rider were again working in harmony.

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Randy ran the back of his leather glove over his face and wiped off some of the sweat dripping from him. He and Tanner had been trying to put the last load of hay into storage before being hit by the thunderstorm that had been bubbling up in the west for the last hour. The impending storm had also created a hot, steamy May afternoon and Randy's clothes were soaked with sweat. Glancing over as he carried another bale into the barn, he saw Tanner was in a similar condition, but the sweat running down his back and lightly haired chest, made him all the more desirable to Randy.

They were working at a frantic pace, and both men were reaching their endurance limits by the time they reached the final tier of bales. The last of the hay had to go in a narrow part of the barn and only one person could stack at a time. Recognizing that Tanner had more experience, Randy had taken to bringing the bales to Tanner, who snagged them with his hay hooks and threw them overhead into the shrinking opening.

Randy walked up with a bale in each hand and stood watching as Tanner tossed another bale onto the stack. But Tanner was precariously situated on the tiered hay four or five rows from the floor, and this time his footing slipped under the weight. His body pitched backward as he let out a surprised oath, and fell squarely on top of Randy. The two of them quickly became a pile of sweaty and hay covered bodies that were completely entangled. As Tanner worked to extract himself without further injury, he noticed that Randy was shaking under him.

"Shit! You ok?" said Tanner.

"Yeah, just so glad we're graceful," said Randy, his body shaking with laughter.

Tanner chuckled as he tried again to untangle himself, but their sweat-covered bodies were as slick as if they were oiled. Neither could get a grip and each time they tried, their hand would slide and they would fall back together. After a few more tries Tanner managed to roll onto the floor. Snickering, he sat up and smiled at Randy, "Well looks like I'm the graceful one. Sorry about the crash, I just lost my footing."

Randy made a dismissive motion as he levered himself from the ground; both men recognizing they were running out of time and redoubled their efforts to finish before the storm hit. As the final few bales were put in place, there was little conversation as both men recalled the sensation of the others touch. As the last bale slid into place, Tanner turned and smiled, "Let's get something to drink. I'm dyin' of thirst."

"A Coke?" asked Randy with a smile.

Tanner chuckled, "Yeah, I think we have root beer and Dr. Pepper."

Randy laughed and rested his arm on Tanner's shoulder in a very companionable way as they walked into the house. Had anyone seen Tanner's face while they were walking back to the house, they would have immediately known the familiar touch was more than welcome.

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The pair had put in several long, hard days at the ranch, but they'd finished the work that needed to be done, so they were back at the university trying to find an apartment. They'd been searching the online listings from the ranch and had narrowed it down to three prospects. They knew they needed to get the lease signed soon, or there wouldn't be anything available. Luck seemed against them though, while the first two places on their list were nice enough, they were far over Randy and Tanner's price range. After the second apartment on their list had been a no go, Tanner had decided it was time for a break, and wheeled them into the drive-in for some lunch. While eating their meal, they began to discuss the last place on their list.

"It sounds like it's a lot smaller than the first two, basically an efficiency," said Randy as he looked over the listing.

"The address is 301 and a half, any address I've ever seen with a half in it is up over a garage," said Tanner around his burger.

"Yeah, but it's close to campus, so we could walk instead of trying to find parking. Not having to shell out the hundred bucks for a parking permit will save us some cash. I guess we'll just have to see what it looks like."

Tanner nodded in agreement as he popped the last of his burger into his mouth. A short time later, they were slowly cruising the street listed, trying to find the address. Eventually they found 301 and glancing around the typical middle class neighborhood, they decided Tanner was probably right, it was a garage apartment. The pair walked up to the door and knocked, wondering what the apartment was going to be like. Quickly, a small woman who could only be called elfish answered the door and beamed up at the two.

"Afternoon, boys. Can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am, you had an apartment for rent?" said Randy.

"Oh, yes, yes. Heavens we do. Let me get my husband." Turning, she partially closed the door and scurried through the house. In only a few moments she returned with an older man who was almost her twin. From the snow white hair, to the full, carefully trimmed beard, and finally to his diminutive size, he was a garden gnome. Tanner started to snicker slightly, but was silenced when Randy jabbed his elbow into his ribs.

"Hi boys, interested in the apartment are ya? Well let's go take a look, yes indeed you just need to see it. By the way, I'm Fred, Fred MacIntosh," Fred motioned back over his shoulder, "And that's my wife Jenny. Well come on, let's take a look."

The boys followed the remarkably swift older man and even Randy had to smile at how much the older couple looked like the workers from Santa's workshop. It took only a few seconds for them to round the house and confirm their suspicions; it was a garage apartment. A short flight of stairs up the side of the garage and Fred was opening the door for them. They were surprised as the door swung open, the interior was amazing, nothing like they expected. After meeting Fred and his wife, both boys had expected a very old fashion look to the apartment, but it was actually very contemporary. As they walked across the light colored hardwood floors, Fred gave them an exhaustive tour, explaining and demonstrating every amenity the tiny apartment contained. There was an amazing amount of storage, which Fred explained as being taken from traditional shipbuilding. Randy glanced at Tanner and got an emphatic nod, turning he smiled at Fred.

"We'll take it. It's perfect," said Randy.

"Wonderful, wonderful! Well, it's small, might be kind of tight for you two big strapping boys," said Fred. Turning to the pair, he studied them for a few moments then continued, "You a couple? It would be a great place for a couple."

"No, I'm not gay!" said Randy, followed quickly by Tanner's agreement that he was straight.

"Pity, mores a pity. You're a handsome couple," said Fred with a frown, but he quickly changed topics, "Let's go take care of the paperwork. Don't want to forget that, Jenny would be so upset. She likes you boys, oh my yes."

Randy followed quietly, not pleased that he had shot off a denial so quickly. He felt diminished by his unwillingness to tell the truth about his sexuality. It was complicated he told himself, but this time the rationalization didn't help. Randy promised himself that this was the last time; he wasn't willing to continue living his life as a lie.

Tanner trailed behind Randy, feeling like he'd been sucker punched. He had a hollow empty feeling resulting from his denial. He'd froze. He just wasn't ready. He had barely accepted the reality of his sexuality to himself; he was only 18 for god's sake. He just wasn't ready. And he didn't want to lose his friend, because after Randy's adamant statement that he wasn't Tanner's partner, there was no doubt in Tanner's mind that his roommate was 100% straight.

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Randy had been home for several weeks, but he had not been able to put what had happened during the search for an apartment out of his mind. It had eaten at him that he'd lied. He'd never had to lie about it before, no one had ever asked. He'd been mulling it over and over in his head and came to the conclusion that he didn't have to be in your face about it, but it was important to him that he not lie about it, especially to those people close to him. He'd like to think that he was a good enough judge of character that it wouldn't matter to his friends, and if it did then they weren't the kind of people he wanted to be around.

For the last several days he'd known what he needed to do, he had to tell his Dad that he was gay. The decision was a relief, but he wasn't sure how his Dad was going to take it when he told him his lacrosse playing, masculine, only son was gay. He'd spent hours running it through his head, trying different ways to say it. Practicing the exact phrasing. He was worried; this was going to be a life-changing event for him. As he contemplated his decision yet again, he absently ran his spoon through his breakfast cereal.

"You ready to talk to me about whatever's worrying you?" asked Randy's Dad.

Randy snapped his head up and started to deny that there was a problem. But with a sigh, he realized this was as good a time as any.

"Yeah, I guess I am. I need to tell you something, and it's really hard to say so let me get through it," said Randy. He watched as his Dad nodded and then continued, "Dad, I'm gay, I've always been gay. It's not something I can change, it's like you being left handed. It's not the way the majority of people are, but it's normal for you. It doesn't change anything, I hope you still love me and understand, but I can't keep living a lie, I—"

Randy's Dad stopped him with a hand motion, "Son, I'll always love you, and I'll support you 100%. Actually, I kinda wondered if you might be gay. I mean you never have dated a girl for very long, but you've been going on and on about your friend Tanner. It sounds like you have a crush on him. But I'm behind you all the way, son."

Randy jumped up and wrapped his arms around his dad and gave him a crushing hug. "Oh god, Dad. Thank you! I've been so worried. Whew, I feel amazing now, just amazing!"

Randy's Dad grabbed his son behind the neck and pulled their foreheads together and smiled, "Son, you are an amazing man, and someone is going to be lucky to catch you. If it's Tanner or someone else."

"Oh Dad, Tanner is amazing, and so cute. His butt is –," said Randy with a grin.

"Ok now. I support you, but I don't want details of your sex life. You can leave me out of that discussion and I'll be just fine," said Randy's Dad with a chuckle.

Randy laughed and sat back down, digging into his breakfast and glad the first hurtle was over.

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"What are you pouting about?" said Jo.

Tanner turned to look at his sister and thought there were definitely times when she was Jo and not Josephine. Right now the expression on her face wouldn't have looked out of place for a Teamster union boss, and Tanner knew not to mess with her in that mood.

"Nothing, just think'n," said Tanner.

"Bullcrap, you've been moping around since Randy left. When are you going to admit that you have a crush on him and miss him?"

"Crush on Randy? Jo, he's a guy. I don't –"

Their eyes locked, and Tanner knew his sister wasn't just spouting off random comments, she knew. He wasn't sure what gave him away, but she was right and he was tired of hiding.

"Yeah, I would love to be with Randy. But Jo, he's straight. So it's never gonna happen," said Tanner sadly.

Jo started laughing at her brother, he was surprised at her reaction to his misfortune of falling for a straight guy. Usually she was very supportive and sympathetic, but not this time. "Hey Sis, that's kinda mean don't ya think?"

"Brother, you are a typical man, dense as a rock. It's good to see that even gay guys are still typical. How could you have missed it? Randy has the hots for you, Tanner. Your dream guy drooled over you every time he thought you wouldn't notice."

Tanner stood there, his mouth hanging open, in complete shock.