by GA Hauser
~
A Guinness at his mouth, Taylor felt sick inside. Brainstorming on ways to stop the constant traveling he had to do out of state, he tried to think of other types of employment he was capable of. Job hunt? Did he want to do that when Daddy was paying him a six-figure salary? Where was he going to get another job he loved for that kind of money? Originally, he hadn’t minded traveling. He had no reason to stay home. He did now. And the dilemma was literally killing him.
When he noticed someone standing near his tiny round table, he raised his head. Owen was staring down at him, his expression so lost and upset it devastated Taylor.
Placing the glass of beer down with a clatter, Taylor stood up and embraced Owen. When he did, he felt Owen’s body begin to shake with his tears. “Shh, all right. Sit down. Let’s talk.”
As Owen looked around the area, dabbing at his eyes discreetly, Taylor made sure he sat down first, handing him the rest of his beer. “Look, Owen, obviously we have to work this out. It’s killing us.”
“What’s to work out?” Owen sipped Taylor’s beer. “You said you travel and you don’t want me to move to Denver.”
“I didn’t say that.” Taylor cringed at how his words were interpreted. “I just said I was afraid if you made that leap to live with me, you might find yourself on your own.”
“I don’t care. I’ll wait for you.”
Smiling warmly, Taylor reached out to wipe the beer-foam mustache from Owen’s top lip. “You will? You’d do that for me?”
“Are you as stupid as you sound?” Owen asked in exasperation.
“I guess so.” Taylor chuckled softly.
They heard a boarding call for their flight. Owen finished the rest of the beer and gestured for them to get going.
“We have time. You want to grab another one?” Taylor pointed to the bar.
“No, I’ll get one on the flight.”
As they headed to their gate, Taylor put his arm around Owen’s waist. He loved this man and didn’t care who figured it out. “You okay?”
Owen nodded, smiling at him bravely. “Better now that you’re not dumping me.”
“Dumping you? That’s the last thing on my mind.” Taylor squeezed him tight.
Standing in the dull line as passengers were called by zone and seat number to board, Taylor kept a sharp eye on Owen. It seemed to Taylor, Owen was still upset and more talking was in order. Well, they had two and a half hours on a plane to do it.
Making sure his hand was in contact with Owen as he moved down the narrow aisle of the body of the plane, Taylor pressed up against the back of him whenever Owen paused to allow someone to get into their seat or stow a bag overhead. Not only did he love the contact, he wanted to keep reassuring Owen that this was anything but a goodbye.
Finally at their seat number, Owen entered first to be near the window, sitting down as Taylor waited to do the same. Once they were both comfortable, Owen whispered, “Feng shui.”
Grinning, as if the spell of doom had been broken, Taylor nodded. “Feng shui. You notice we sleep on the same side of the bed as well?”
Owen paused, as if he was visualizing it. “You’re right. I’m on the left and you’re on the right. Amazing. It would feel wrong if we switched.”
Finding Owen’s hand, Taylor replied, “It would feel wrong if we didn’t stay together.”
“I agree. Taylor, I’d be lost without you.”
Taking a quick look around the area, Taylor pecked Owen on the lips. “Ditto.”
“Wow, that was bold.” Owen sat up and checked to see if there were any frowning faces.
“Not bold. Not when you love a man.”
Owen twisted in the seat to stare at Taylor in amazement. “Do you really love me?”
Savoring that innocence, Taylor answered, “I really do, Mr. Braydon.”
“Wow. I mean, wow.” Owen rubbed his forehead as if the notion were astounding him.
“So? You going to move to Denver? Is that the plan?”
Biting his lip, Owen nodded. “I guess so. I mean, I have to admit when Jenna took Leah out of state, I did imagine following them. But at the time, it was so nasty the way Jenna did it, I felt defiant about not allowing her to make that decision for me. Does that make sense?”
“Yes. Perfect sense.” Taylor held Owen’s hand, stroking it while it rested on his own lap.
“But the reasons are different now. It’s not like I’ve caved in and she finally won. Man, do I sound like the worst male-chauvinist pig?”
“I take it you’re the one that got hurt in the divorce.”
“You got that right. I was slaughtered. I swear, Taylor, I never saw it coming. All of a sudden Jenna says out of the blue she wants a divorce. Next thing I know, she’s hired a lawyer. My head was spinning.”
“Did she say why?” Taylor felt horrible for him.
“Something like, she needed some space. I remember wondering what she meant. I mean, I worked all day, and she stayed home. Space? I only saw her for a few hours in the evening, and on the weekends when we’d spend time as a family. But space? What space?”
“She date other men?”
“Isn’t that the kind of space people usually ask for?”
A call came over the airplane PA system that they were going to be ready to close the doors soon and everyone needed to sit down and buckle up.
Taylor waited until the attendant was done speaking to reply. “Yes. It is, Owen. Was she seeing another man at the time?”
“I assumed so. I was too chicken to ask. If she had another guy on the side, she kept him hidden from me. Leah never mentioned one, either.”
The plane jerked back, moving away from the terminal.
“That was while she was still in LA?” Taylor asked.
“Yes. I guess she didn’t have a steady man in LA because she did leave. I mean, she ultimately left for Denver to be near her family.”
“Oh?”
“Her mom, dad, and sisters live in Colorado.”
“Ah, I get it. So, it wasn’t for a man. It was to be near her family.”
“But,” Owen stopped talking when another announcement came over the loud speakers.
Taylor could tell he was frustrated to stop his thought. “Forget that,” Taylor leaned closer to hear Owen if he spoke, over the noisy background. “But what?”
“But I would have moved with her. If Jenna had come to me and said, ‘Owen, I can’t stand being so far from my family, can we move to Denver?’ I would have said yes. So it wasn’t about me at all, Taylor. It was about her leaving me.”
That puzzled Taylor. In his opinion, Owen had everything anyone could want. He was handsome, fit, rich, loving, and had an excellent sense of humor. The list kept going. What the hell was wrong with the woman? Taylor decided to voice that question out loud, and in his deepest Texas drawl, he asked Owen, “What the hell is wrong with that damn woman?” As if the accent would emphasize his complete confusion. “Owen, you are an ideal catch. Was the woman blind?”
His shyness kicking in, Owen covered his mouth and turned red.
Another announcement from the captain blared over the speakers, clearing the plane for take-off, asking the attendants to take their seats.
Taylor waited as they blasted off into the air, the G-force pushing him back in his seat as the nose tipped up into the heavens. Once they were up, up, and away, Taylor turned back to Owen saying, “Look, her loss is my gain. I have no idea what her problem is.”
Owen shrugged. “I just assumed I hadn’t met her expectations somehow. Maybe I sucked in bed.”
“Ha, good one, Owen,” Taylor snorted in sarcasm. “Maybe she just didn’t know how to bring the animal out in you.”
“You sure as shit do,” Owen whispered, then tore off the plastic from the blue blanket.
Taylor smiled. It was the sign that Owen wanted to play. “Right, so this Jenna, she just up and leaves you with your daughter in tow. No explanation other than, ‘I need space’?”
“There must be something I don’t know about you,” Taylor teased.
“Maybe she knew something about me I didn’t know about myself.”
“How’s that?” Taylor tilted his head in question.
“I’m gay. Taylor, I’m very gay. I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying sex with you. Not only the physical part of this relationship, but the male companionship. I love the man in you. I obviously couldn’t love the man in Jenna.”
“So you think Jenna knew you were gay before you did?” Taylor felt Owen’s hand move to his lap under the blue flannel.
“Yes. Maybe. There could have been signs. I don’t know. Maybe I stared at the television too long when Brad Pitt was on.”
Taylor started laughing. “Yeah, that’s always the indication a man is gay. Owen, shut up.”
“What do you want me to do? Ask her? Say, Hey, Jenna, my new boyfriend wants to know why you dumped me? Did I snore? Pick my nose in public?”
“I know you don’t snore. And I haven’t seen ya pick your nose in public yet, so that ain’t going to help me.”
~
Owen began to get insulted. “Wait a minute. Are you serious about trying to find out why Jenna didn’t want to be around me, so you can find out if you can tolerate what she couldn’t?”
“Why do you say such stupid things? Owen, that’s ridiculous.”
“Then why are you so curious as to why she divorced me?”
“If I was divorced, wouldn’t you want to know?”
The seatbelt sign clicked off when they reached cruising altitude. Soon the drink cart would be coming their way.
Taylor pushed the arm of the seat back so they could connect sides. When Owen’s hand left his lap, Taylor brought it back and stuck it directly on his crotch. “You keep it right there.”
“I have to be able to drink my wine.”
“You will. When she gets to this aisle. You’ve got time.”
Owen couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, you never told me if you’ve ever been involved with someone else before.”
“Yes, I was. But I didn’t feel about them the way I do about you.”
Owen stroked between Taylor’s legs, cupping his warm mound of flesh. “Why not?”
“Because. They were different people.”
Taylor took out his wallet and found a ten-dollar bill to pay for their two drinks. After Taylor ordered a wine and a beer, pocketing his sparse change, they continued their conversation.
“Different how?” Owen cracked open the top, pouring into his plastic cup from the tiny bottle.
“Well, my first boyfriend was Will. He kept cheating on me. He’d promise he’d come home and then didn’t. Did that to me twice. Then I kicked him out. Asshole.”
“Will…okay. How long did you guys go out?”
“Three months.”
Owen choked on his wine in surprise. “Three months?”
“Yeah. I’m stunned it lasted that long. He was pretty, but he was a jerk.”
“Anyone else?”
“I dated one girl once.”
Owen smiled, watching Taylor take a long sip of his beer straight from the bottle. “Well?”
“It was in high school. I already knew I was gay. I just did it for Pop. We went to some silly dance.”
“Ever screw a woman?”
“No. Never have.”
“Huh.” That surprised Owen. He wondered if in the back of Taylor’s mind he would always wonder what that would be like and eventually want to find out.
“I can tell what you’re thinking.”
Owen asked in surprise, “You can?”
“Yes. The answer is no.” Taylor drank more of his beer from the bottle. “I bet it’s chicken and ravioli again.”
“Back the truck up, Taylor. Don’t change the subject on me. You said the answer was no. What did you think my question was going to be?”
“Do I want to know what it’s like to have sex with a woman? The answer to that, Owen, is no.”
Owen was impressed. It was indeed what he was thinking. “Why not?”
“I just don’t have the inclination. Why do you think I’m gay?”
“Yes, but don’t most men start out liking woman, or trying to like women, and then find out they’re gay?”
“Did you read that in one of your college books?” Taylor raised an eyebrow.
“No. It’s just Braydon-logic.”
“Well, maybe it’s logical for some fellas, but not me. I’ve preferred men since I was a small boy. I knew early on it was men for me.”
“Really?” Owen found that hard to swallow. Most young boys suffered from peer pressure and parental influence. At least he had.
“It wasn’t easy, Owen, being the oldest of six. And my brothers always looked up to me. I had to set a damn example. I couldn’t be caught dead kissing another boy.”
“Wow. That’s harsh.”
“You have no idea.”
“Well, I sort of do, because of what you’ve said about your dad.” Owen’s wine went down too quickly and he craved another.
“He’s not nearly as bad as when he first found out. Almost skinned me alive.”
“How did he find out?”
“You really want to hear all this?”
Owen rubbed Taylor’s leg under the blanket. “Yes. But not if you don’t want to tell me.”
“I don’t mind. Hell, you’re my partner now. You should be able to ask me anything.”
His chest swelling in pride, Owen blushed again. I love the sound of that!
“Right. I’ll tell ya. We hired a young man to help us break a horse Pop had bought at an auction. At first Pop said he didn’t care if anyone could ride him, since he was just for stud. But after a few days, I knew he’d want the stallion broken. I tried, Luke tried, Caleb tried, Jason…no use. None of us could break him. So, Pop finds some fella from a neighboring ranch and asks him. I swear, Owen, when I set eyes on him, I creamed my jeans.”
Owen had already left the real world and was floating around in some Hollywood Western movie. Maybe it was A River Runs Through It, or Brokeback Mountain. Wherever it was, gorgeous cowboys abound. Oh, there’d be a huge mansion on acres of land. Horses everywhere. Cowpokes sitting on fences in faded torn denim, boots and spurs, hats and chaps. Oh, definitely chaps! And there’d be tons of men. Dusty, callused men with unshaven jaws. They’d all walk like they were just fucking something for hours…
“Owen?”
“Huh?”
“You listening?”
“Yes!”
“Right. Well, this fella comes in to break this crazy black horse we got. I swear the horse’s eyes would go bright red when someone tried to ride him. No matter what we did to tie him up, he’d go ballistic. So, Tristan—”
“Tristan?” Owen interrupted. “Did you say this guy’s name was ‘Tristan’?”
“Yeah, anyway, we get the horse ready for him. I swear I’ve never seen a man ride like he did. He had that horse eating out of the palm of his hand in a matter of minutes. Once he breaks the damn stallion, he climbs off and gives the horse’s nose a good rub in appreciation. I’d never seen a man do what he did. So, there’s me, salivating over him like he’s the damnedest thing I’d ever seen…”
Owen was so hot he was about to die. Brad Pitt? No, Jake Gyllenhaal? No, oh, god who would play that part? Owen Wilson?
“You still with me?” Taylor asked.
“Huh? Yes. Sorry, go on.”
“Well, I was a mere pup then, Owen. I was sixteen. I’d never touched anyone before, not girl nor boy. When Tristan was leaving, I ran after him. Pop had already paid him. He had his money and was about to get into his truck. I actually had the balls to stop that man from getting into his rig. I told him, in no uncertain terms, he floated my boat. I didn’t care who knew, who he told, or if he punched my lights out.”
“Wow…”
Owen’s eyes were wide and his hand was once again between Taylor’s legs.
“Instead of beatin’ the shit out of me, he hops out of his truck, looks around, and signals me to come into one of the empty horse stalls. There he unzipped his jeans and let me suck him. I was sold ever since. Only problem was my kid brother, Caleb, was spying on us. Went right to Pop with it. Damn near killed me. But it was worth it. Worth the first blowjob. I never forgot it.”
“You and Jake Gyllenhaal?”
“What? Jake Gyllenhaal? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Move!” Owen shoved him. “Come on, get going.”
“What?”
“Go to the damn bathroom and do it now!”
As if Taylor had just figured it out, he erupted with laughter. “I should have guessed. Another one of your cowboy fantasies?”
“Go!”
“I’m going.” Taylor unbuckled his belt and laughed the entire walk to the tail of the plane.
Owen waited, one, two, three, that’s enough. He followed Taylor’s path down the aisle, not daring to peek at the occupants as they watched the movie, headphones on, read newspapers, or worked on laptops.
Rapping his knuckles on a door, he waited, pushing at it. “Taylor,” he whispered through it. Then realized a second bathroom was also occupied. “Shit.” He moved to that one and knocked. It opened instantly and that large masculine hand grabbed his shirt and dragged him in quickly.
“I knocked on the wrong door.”
“So what? Now, which part of my story made you so excited?”
“All of it! Holy shit. Was that all real or just a great fantasy for my benefit?”
Taylor’s eyes lit up. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”
“You devil!” Owen wrapped around him and kissed him, closing his eyes at the pleasure of contacting Taylor that way. As their tongues battled for supremacy, Owen began undoing his pants, dying for a blowjob.
“Christ, we’re getting too good at this.” Taylor sat on the closed toilet seat and yanked Owen’s jeans wider.
“Practice makes perfect.” Owen shivered as Taylor sucked on him, Taylor’s mouth so hot and wet it was all he needed to shiver down to his shoes. Steadying himself with one hand on the door and one on Taylor’s shoulder, all Owen had to do was envision Taylor sucking some cowboy’s cock in a horse’s stall, and he was there. “Ah!”
