Chapter Twenty-Seven  -  Euie
“I'm worried, Euie. Tommy Lynn wants another doctor. I said to him you've known this one for years. You trust him. And he said, 'I went to him and complained that I get very dizzy if I stand on one leg. And he said to me, 'Well that's easy. Don't stand on one leg.' Tommy Lynn tried to pretend it was funny, but I didn't laugh.' 
“I wouldn't either, Buddy. What can he do?”
“Well, the doc said Tommy could go to a hospital for a thousand tests of vision, inner ear sensitivity, and muscle-motion measurements and he'd probably get the same answer. Don't stand on one leg.”
“So that means the doctor isn't worried, huh?”
“But I am. I can't put my finger on it, but something's different. Tommy's insanely jealous of the gardener I hired. And he's got NOTHING to worry about. The dude is totally straight.”
“I thought Lonnie was totally gay.”
“Not Lonnie, the other one.”
“Oh, that one. I don't know what to tell you, Buddy, but the guy does seem to have a little thing for you.” I'm not married; I had no idea what pressures Buddy must be facing.
Buddy smiled and changed to subject. “You say that with such a giddy grin on your face. Are you in love again?”
“Well ...” I told him about my weekend meeting Rayner and getting to know him; just the basics, I didn't want to bore him with details since what happened next was a whole lot more interesting. “So Tuesday I knew Quint would be out. He's a comp-sci major but he's added a forestry course from Virginia Tech, which means he'll be gone for at least a couple of hours hunting up a forest to study. The course was called “A Breeze in the Trees” by serious science nerds, but Quint has this idea about applying computer graphical analysis to forestry and wants to pursue it.”
“Enough about your roommate. What about your youthful lacrosse friend?” Buddy prodded, looking at his watch. 
“Ok, but Quint's a good friend. I just wanted you to know that. Yeah, so Rayner. Hoo!”
I told him about the meeting and our first weekend and got a smile. Then came our Tuesday date! Whoa!
“He felt so good in my arms, like a shoe that fits perfectly right in the store? He came in the room and, bam, we were at it, makin' out, clothes falling off. He was so eager and receptive; but when I stuck it in a little … WHOA! I barely got the head in, and I used a bunch of lube, when he screamed so loud I was afraid a dozen people would break into the room to rescue him.  I froze and started to pull out, but he grabbed me by the hips and said 'NO! Wait! Do it! Just go easy!” It was torture for him, but he wouldn't let me stop. 'Rayner, we don't have to do this,' I pleaded. 'I want to; I want to do it for you,' he insisted. Tears were streaming down his face. I hurried and finished up; but still he wouldn't let me pull out. We talked about it. He said it hurt, but he felt so good afterward. And he kept moving, you know, little fucking motions, keeping me hard. Next thing I knew we're back to fucking and he came! All over the place! So then he got out of bed, standing there naked with a half hard dick, looked at his phone and said, 'Quint's due back in … three, two, one ...' And the door rattled! “Wait a sec,' I said. But it wasn't Quint, thank God; it was somebody from down the hall wanting a book. Rayner laughed his ass off, got dressed, gave me a little kiss, and left saying something about Thursday in his room.”
“Euie, you have a way more exciting life than I do. It's a great day when I can get Tommy Lynn to top.”
“Yeah, so Thursday, I went to his room and he said we had an hour. It was a nice sweet, no-muss no-fuss fuck. Kinda romantic, actually, except for the hurry up part. I said what about the weekend and he said he had to go home. It was hay stackin' time. And then he said, 'Why don't you come along? It'll be my brothers and parents, maybe my sister. We gotta get the hay in before it rains.”
“To feed the animals? You know, I've been thinking about getting a horse or two.”
“No, no animals. They sell it. Any way, I took my stat exam Friday morning and by noon we're heading south. His daddy's place is about an hour and a half. By two in the afternoon, I was sweating in a field hooking bales up into a stake truck. Dude! That's HARD WORK! You prop one end on your hip and pull the bale up by the wire and hope the dude in the truck grabs it before the wire cuts your hand. I barely remember dinner and went to bed exhausted. I didn't even mind when Rayner said we had to stay in separate beds, because his parents room was just one thin wall away. The next day it was the same. We worked all morning and were done by mid afternoon. We both took a little nap, which was so good, magic, really. By dinner time, I felt showered and rested and the food – I wouldn't have cared what it was – but his momma's actually a good cook. And we had some local wine that his daddy said was made from blueberries. Pretty good! Not great, but pretty good. We all watched some old family videos and then went to bed. Again, those sheets never looked so good. But just as I was falling asleep, Rayner crawled in with me. 'I can't spend another night alone,' he says. Trying to be as quiet as possible we messed around. Now, Buddy, I know I was totally silent. No signs, groans, no nothing! But Rayner was … uh, less quiet and at the end he says 'What a fuck!' way too loud. I shushed him and he just giggled. Then we slept. Breakfast was ok, but his daddy kept eyeing me. After we packed the car and were ready to leave. Rayner forgot something and went back to the house. His daddy came up to me and, looking like a BEAR, says, 'Are you fucking my boy?' “
“Jeez, Euie!” Buddy looked as panicked as I felt getting the question.
 
“ 'I said, ARE YOU FUCKIN' MY BOY?' he yelled at me. I muttered, 'Yes, sir.'  'WHAT?' he demanded. 'Yes, sir, I am.' I thought he was gonna kill me. He clenched his fists … you know what a farmer's fists look like? Monsters! But he didn't. He calmed down and said, 'Don't hurt him.' I sputtered something. 'Just don't hurt him,' he repeated. “No, sir, I won't,' I promised and me at the same time wondering if the Tuesday tears constituted 'hurting him'. Rayner busted up the little talk and we drove away. I didn't breathe easy until we were two miles out the gate. I told Rayner what happened and he said, “Yeah, the stare! My brothers and I grew up in fear of it, but he never laid a hand on us. He's a pretty good dad actually. I'll talk to him.' 'Rayner, dude,' I said, 'Just what are you going to tell him.' And Rayner says, Buddy I swear this is true, Rayner says, 'I'm going to tell him I love you.' “
“My God! Euie!”
“I know! I said to him, 'Don't you think you should tell me first?' and he says, “I'm scared.' Of me???? 'No, not of you, I'm scared of loving you.' And with that he pulls off the road, drives into some trees and parks. 'I want to take some apples back to school,' he says and he starts getting undressed. 'The trees are full of sap,' is his explanation.  He climbed a tree in his underwear saying it was one of his daddy's orchards and the pickers always left a few apples. 'Hold out your shirt,' he said and the next thing a two pound apple landed in it. Then another and another. He switched to another tree and got three or four more. Then he came down with one in his underwear. He pulled it out and held it up for me. Man, it was the sweetest thing! And then he took a bite out of it and we stood chewing and grinning like hillbilly idiots. And then he kissed me and the kiss was as sweet as the apple. And then without a word he took my clothes off and … it was way different. He was the boss. This kid, last week's virgin, fucked me like a pro. I said how'd you get so good? And he said it was automatic. He just did what he thought I'd like him to do.”
“Euie!”
“I know! Twice! There I was! All out of breath lying naked in an apple orchard. No lube but spit. Cum all over me. And then, his dick was still in me,  he said, 'I want to be naked with you always. I love you.' I swear I thought he was gonna fuck me again. But the sun was going down and he didn't.“
“God, I'm glad I'm not you. I'm glad I know you, but I don't want to be you.” Buddy laughed and then laughed again. “I'm so glad I have freaky friends.”
“So … we get back to  school and he's back to normal. My turn to top. His roommate got back right after we were done. He complained about the room smelling of cum and it being too cold to open the windows. And Rayner said to him, 'You love it.' And his roommate picked up a couple books, said to me, 'Good luck,' and left again. The semester was gonna end on Wednesday and I asked about Christmas. He said, 'Oh sorry, we always take a cruise, the whole family, for Christmas.' So that's how it ended. He loves me and fucks me silly and I'm starting to think maybe he's alright, too, and then – poof - he's gone for two weeks.”
Buddy shook his head. “Only you, Euie. So … how'd you do on the stat test?”
“A minus. He taught me every problem almost exactly as it appeared on the test. Like he had a copy in advance or something.”
“Well, with Rayner gone, what are you doin' for Christmas? Want to come stay with us for a couple days?”
“I was thinking about working a few parties with Cary, but, although I could use the money, that might be a problem ... You're needin' company?”
“Tommy Lynn doesn't want to do anything. We have invitations to stuff, but he doesn't want to go. He seems reasonably happy but the office will be closed down and I can't do all the talkin' for weeks on end.”
“It won't be weeks. We'll all be there in between the holidays closing out the year.”
“You will? Oh thank God. I gotta learn more about the business. And then there's this kid. Hollis. I don't even know how old he is ... Twelve or something? He's coming on to Tommy and when that doesn't work, he'll settle for me, he says … And then George gets all pissed off ...”
“Uh, just so you know, Buddy, I think George has a little thing for the kid. Richard said ...”
“Richard said the kid is a slut! That's what Richard said – like he's all pissed off about it, too. I never thought I'd hear Richard, of all people, criticize somebody for sleeping around!”
“Not much sleepin' goes on, from what I hear. The kid's a pistol. Hot looking, too. I know I'd have trouble saying no.”
Buddy smiled at me. “Are we havin' fun, Euie?” 
He caught me by surprise; I wanted to hug him. “I am. I hope you are. You're an awfully good friend, Buddy.”
“Merry Christmas, Euie. Good luck with Rayner.”  He shook and then held my hand for an instant before left the bar.