Country

by Jeff Mann

  “Sounds great. Thank you.” Brice rolled onto his side and tried to sit up. “Sheeee-ut. Whoa.”

  “Need some help?” Lucas strode over and gripped Brice’s hand.

  “Afraid so.”

  Brice strained and Lucas hauled. Soon, the bigger man was sitting unsteadily on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths and trying to ignore new waves of pain. Lucas slid the tray onto Brice’s lap.

  “Want me to feed you, pore ole Daddy?”

  Brice chuckled. “Fuck you, kid. Now you’re making fun of me?”

  Lucas kissed Brice’s brow before taking his portion of the meal and seating himself at the desk. “Figured a little humor wouldn’t hurt.”

  “True. It is funny in an absurd, pathetic way. I can bench-press and preacher-curl a decent amount of weight, but…talk about a chain only being as strong as its weakest link. One lumbar joint goes out and, hell, if all the homophobes in Nashville were to show up tonight, crippled up as I am right now, they could beat me to death with the greatest of ease.”

  “They’d have to go through me first,” Lucas said, flexing his biceps. “Parole or not, ain’t no one gonna mess with you long as I’m around. Plus Amie isn’t the only one around here with a gun.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. What my parole officer don’t know won’t hurt him. We country folks like our guns. Who knows what kinda crazy asshole might show up on the doorstep, way out here in the boonies? Ain’t you noticed that shotgun I have there in the corner behind the bed?”

  Brice turned stiffly to regard the weapon. “No, I hadn’t noticed that. When I’m here, all I notice is you.”

  Lucas guffawed. “Listen to that sweet talk. Eat your soup before it gets cold. Amie puts lots of carrot, bacon, pepper, and parsley in it to jazz it up.”

  Brice nodded. The two men fell silent, savoring their meals, murmuring with pleasure. When they were done, Lucas piled the dirty dishes on the tray and took them to the kitchen. He returned, carrying two more bottles of beer and another round of pain pills.

  “Looks like you’re in no shape to play me your guitar, so how about another movie?” Lucas handed Brice a Yuengling before pulling the curtains against the cold and lighting a stubby candle on the bookshelf by the bed.

  “Yep. Sounds fun.” Brice gulped down the pills with a chaser of beer.

  Lucas tugged at the shoulder of Brice’s sweatshirt. “Want some help getting those clothes off, ole crip?”

  “You cocky little prick.” Brice smiled, pushing back the pain and the weariness. He grunted and huffed with discomfort as Lucas tugged off first his sweatshirt and T-shirt and then his jeans. Lucas helped Brice stretch out on the bed and arranged a supportive pile of pillows behind his back.

  “Cold in here,” Lucas muttered, stripping down to his black briefs. He popped a DVD into the player before diving into bed. “Warm me up, Daddy.”

  “I’d be damned glad to.” Brice wrapped an arm around the shivering boy.

  “Ummm, feels great. Don’t you worry, man. I’ll take good care of you.” Snuggling closer, he nuzzled Brice’s neck. “So here we go. From Dusk Till Dawn. I love vampires. Word is we even got some near here.”

  Brice cocked an eyebrow.

  “For years, there’ve been rumors about guys over in Pendleton County found drained of blood. Round about Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob, and German Valley.”

  “Creepy.”

  “Local bullshit. Those are real pretty areas. We could hike around there come spring, if you’d like. Unless you’re afraid of bloodsuckers.”

  “Yeah, right. I guess we West Virginians have some pretty crazy folklore.”

  Lucas bumped Brice’s side with his shoulder. “Crazy? Don’t you believe in the Mothman and the Snarly Yow and the Flatwoods Monster? They’re the stuff of mountain men’s nightmares.”

  Brice took a swig of beer before pulling Lucas closer. “After today, the stuff of this mountain man’s nightmares is reporters, scads of ‘em, dropping from the trees and slithering out from behind bushes. Like diamondbacks or stinging caterpillars.”

  “Yeah, that’s a pretty horrible vision. How long you think before that Star issue is out?”

  “They work pretty fast. A matter of days.”

  “Mommy’s gonna love that. Her neighbors picking up that rag and reading it and waving it in her face….” Lucas’s face fell. “Shit. As if she ain’t ashamed of me enough already.”

  “It’s my fault. I’m so sorry. You were just trying to—”

  “I was trying to protect you.” Lucas’s voice was firm with defiance. “Because I care about you a lot. Because, ever since you got here, despite me being a mean little icy—frigid!—bastard, you’ve been nicer to me than just about anyone other’n Uncle Phil, and Grace, and Amie, and Doris Ann. Mommy’s been downright rattlesnake-mean since I come outta prison. So much for being a compassionate Christian.

  “Oh, hell. Enougha this.” Lucas rolled over and grabbed up the remote. “Let’s get to those vampires. I sure like the looks of that George Clooney. He could nip my neck any time.”

  BRICE WOKE TO FIND THE closing credits scrolling over the TV screen and the sound muted. He was lying on his side, with Lucas curled in his arms.

  “Uhhhh. Man. I fell asleep?”

  Lucas took Brice’s hand. “You sure did. After the first twenty minutes or so. You were snoring up a storm.”

  “Beer and pain pills…. Sorry about that.”

  “No problem. You were my own private furry furnace while I helped Mr. Clooney kill off those fanged bastards. They sorta did remind me of the reporters that’ve been snooping around here.” Lucas switched off the TV and rolled onto his back. “How you feeling?”

  Brice risked an exploratory stretch. “Better. Those pills always help. The pain’s moved from agony to dull ache, which is definitely an improvement.”

  “You want another back rub before we hit the hay? Might do you some good. I could work in some Bengay.”

  “God, yes. That would be wonderful.”

  Lucas slid off the bed. He opened the bedside table and pulled out a tube of the heat rub. “On your belly then.”

  Grunting, Brice repositioned himself.

  “Underwear off this time.”

  “Yeah? Really?”

  “Yeah, really. I’m gonna concentrate on your lower back, but I’m gonna rub your glutes too.”

  Brice shifted about, trying to slide down his boxer briefs.

  “Here. Lemme do it.”

  Lucas’s fingers slipped under the waistband of Brice’s underwear. “Lift up your hips. Yep. Yep. There you go.”

  The garment slipped down Brice’s legs and off. “Oh, yeah,” Lucas said softly. “Just the kind of big, chunky, hairy butt I’d imagined.”

  Brice laughed. The cool air of the room goose-pimpled his skin. “You’ve imagined my butt?”

  “I sure have. Umm, sorry, it’s kinda chilly in here. Lemme warm things up.” Lucas turned on a rotating heater in the corner, and in a matter of minutes the small room grew toasty.

  “Sorry to keep things so cold,” Lucas said, sitting astride Brice’s thighs before anointing his hands with the rub. “We were so poor growing up that Daddy and Mommy were always running around behind me, turning off lights and turning down the heat. Uncle Phil has been so good to me, letting me stay here free, that I hate to run up his heating bill.”

  “I was raised the same,” Brice sighed as Lucas’s fingers began to do their work, kneading Brice’s shoulders and neck only briefly before focusing on his lower back. “‘Never waste anything’ was pretty much my family’s motto. Hell, the whole town’s. My parents grew up in the Great Depression, so—uuuuhhhh! Wonderful. Where’d you learn to do all that?”

  “I used to be on the baseball team back in high school. Had an older cousin, Rex, who was studying sports medicine at WVU. He sorta interned with us some, taught me some things. Wish he’d taught me more. He was pretty hot. Died driving drunk the second year I
was in prison. Damn fool. I still miss him. Anyway, I learned some stuff from him, and the rest I just fake.”

  The distinctive scent of Bengay filled the room, reminding Brice of Phys Ed classes of long ago. Lucas dug his thumbs into Brice’s sacroiliac joint.

  “There’s the little fucker. Swollen.”

  “UH!”

  Lucas paused. “Am I hurting you?”

  “It hurts good. Keep it up. Uhh! Man, if I had the money…and I sure as shit don’t any more…I’d send you to massage school.”

  “Sounds good. Though I’d rather….”

  “Rather what? Oh, Lucas, that feels wonderful. Thank you. You’d…ummmmm…rather what?”

  “Well, I was always into biology. I was always good at it. I had dreams, stupid dreams.”

  “Dreams of what?”

  Lucas was silent for a long time, working the enflamed joint.

  “Lucas?”

  “I wanted to be a forest ranger. Or a wildlife biologist. Maybe work at a state park or forest like Kumbrabow or a wilderness area like Dolly Sods. Instead, I ended up a professional cocksucker and penitentiary butt-bitch.”

  “Well, those are skills I admire and hope to enjoy real soon. But you ought to consider going back to school, maybe WVU, and getting a degree.”

  “Uncle Phil says the same thing. He’s even offered to pay. Who knows? Right now, I just…I just need more time to…. It’s hard for me to be around strangers. Real hard. I know I can’t stay here in this valley forever, but part of me sure would like to.”

  “Yeah. Right now I’m feeling the same. I’m just glad I have you to hole up with. With luck, we can both figure out what to do with our futures. At this point, I don’t have the slightest idea.”

  “Me, I think you should get cracking and write a new album. How could the music not be pouring out of you with a new muse as sexy as me?”

  “True. Let’s see. I could write a song called ‘Bearded Beauty and the Bare-Assed Beast.’ How’s that sound?”

  Lucas ran his palms gently over Brice’s bared buttocks. “Like a big hit.” He probed the bunched mounds of muscle. “Man, you’re really tight down here. Can you relax more? You seem super tensed up.”

  Brice closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “I’m trying. It’s hard.”

  “Sooo tense. Rex used to talk about how folks can carry their anxiety and sadness around in their bodies. I used to think that was bullshit, but after a few weeks in prison, it really made sense. I walked around waiting for those guys to jump me again, and my shoulders and neck used to hurt so bad at night it was hard to sleep.”

  “It makes sense to me too.” Brice took another long breath and slumped deeper into the sheets. “I think I’ve been carrying tension around since…. I think I’ve been armored all my life. Or at least since I realized I wanted men, and I figured out what that could mean if anyone found out. In my hometown. In college. In Nashville. It’s like I’m always tensed up for a fight. Poised to take on attackers at any moment. You know?”

  “Shit, yes, I know.”

  “It’s the reason I started lifting weights in college. And took some Phys Ed classes in self-defense and boxing. And why I carry a hunting knife underneath my truck seat. It’s like a siege mentality I can’t turn off.”

  “I can relate. What’s been thrown at you since last fall has made it even worse, no doubt.” Lucas’s strong thumbs moved in slow, probing circles over Brice’s buttocks. Despite his throbbing back, Brice’s cock began to stiffen beneath him.

  “It sure has. I’ve—oh, man, keep that up, please! I’ve been even more on my guard since the minute I heard that interview with Zac got published. It’s been one shithead after another coming at me. One blow after another. Who knows what direction the next attack will come from? Who knows what I’ll lose next? Damn. I’ve been drinking too much for months, taking pain pills….”

  “Getting drunk, shoving pore lil’ ex-cons around. You’re a brute, Brice Brown.” Lucas returned his strong hands’ attentions to Brice’s lower back. “A big savage mess. A burly, furry-assed brute.” Lucas took a deep breath. He bent down and kissed Brice on his right shoulder blade. “I’m so glad you found me, furry-assed brute.”

  “I’m so glad you found me. I am a brute. Yes, indeed. A mad hillbilly of the first order. Yet God has still seen fit to send me a hot little redneck angel.”

  “Redneck angel. I like that. Don’t it piss you off how folks use the word ‘redneck’ as an insult? Or ‘hillbilly?’ I’m kinda fond of both those words.”

  “I feel the same. Though I guess those are terms that we can apply to ourselves but outsiders damn well better not.”

  “Exactly, yep. ‘Redneck angel.’ How about that for a song title?” Lucas gave Brice’s ass-cheeks gentle slaps and then slipped off the bed. “Sorry. My hands are tired. It’s nearly midnight. Ready for some sleep?”

  “Yeah. My back feels so much better. Thank you. Will you do me two more favors tonight?”

  “Sure. What are they?”

  Brice pushed himself up and over onto his side, trying to veil his erection by bending his leg. “Will you help me up here in a minute? I need to piss pretty bad.”

  “After a couple Yuenglings, I’ll bet you do. Let me wash this stuff off my hands first. What’s the second favor?”

  “I’m naked now. Would you get naked too? It’s not like I’m going to cruelly ravish you in this broke-back state I’m in, right?”

  Lucas gazed down at Brice, mouth askew with amusement. “I ain’t too sure about that. Looks like your Big Johnson there is raring to go. But I guess I’ll take my chances.” Casually, he slipped his black briefs off. “Be right back.”

  Half-hard cock swaying, Lucas strode toward the bathroom. Brice watched him go, staring at the boy’s superlative ass, two tight winter-pale mounds covered with the faintest dusting of chestnut hair.

  BRICE WOKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, bladder full yet again. Lucas was lying behind him, his warm frame pressed against Brice, his left arm flung over Brice’s shoulder. Brice extricated himself with difficulty, trying not to wake the boy. He trudged his way to the toilet, moving carefully, afraid the wrong move might throw his back out again. When he clambered back into bed, Lucas whispered, “Hey. How you feeling? You all right?”

  “Yeah. Pretty creaky and stiff and sore, but holding up. Thanks to the hot tub and the Bengay and your miraculous hands.”

  Brice slipped an arm around Lucas. Lucas rested his head on Brice’s shoulder and began fooling with the fur on Brice’s plump belly. Wind mourned around the eaves.

  “Brice?”

  “Yep?”

  “I been thinking. Well, wondering. When I’m ready…when I’m ready for more…ready to do all those things you’re wanting us to do together….”

  “When you’re ready for us to become lovers, not just bedmates?”

  “Yeah. Well, what…whadda you…whadda you like? Whadda you have in mind? In terms of messing around. Fucking around.”

  Brice smiled into the darkness. “Oh. Oh, so much.”

  “Like?”

  “Well, first of all, it won’t be ‘messing around’ or ‘fucking around.’ It’ll be much more. It’ll be, well, making love to you.”

  “Making love?” Lucas’s voice was tight. He sounded almost fearful. “D-do you…? Are you saying…?”

  Brice took his hand and kissed it. “I’m not gonna toss the L word around just yet, since we only met—what? A few weeks ago? I am saying that I’ve come to care about you a lot. I’m not out on that limb all alone, am I? Don’t you feel…? You did say earlier this evening that….”

  “Yeah, you heard me right. I care a lot about you too. After the shitty history I’ve had with men, it’s kinda amazing to be able to say that.”

  “Me too. Timing is everything, I think. We’ve met one another at the right times in our lives. I’ve had loads of passion and caring inside of me, but I’ve never really let it out before, but now I am. Beca
use you’re so damn beautiful, and because I feel a kinship with you—kind of a kinship of suffering, I guess—and because you bring out this fierce protective instinct in me, and because I feel safe with you. And pretty soon, I’m hoping, you’re gonna feel just as safe with me. Why are you asking me this tonight? Wanting to talk about us getting sexual together?”

  “I don’t know. I…. Okay, that’s a lie. I know why. Bigger men have intimidated me all my life, at the same time that I’ve wanted a lot of ‘em. Bigger men hurt me in prison.” Lucas squeezed Brice’s thick biceps. “You’re nearly twice my size, Brice buddy. I’m a little scared of you, to be honest. I know I’m strong, but you’re way stronger. You could do anything you wanted to with me. But tonight….”

  Brice laughed. “I’m broken down and harmless, huh? I have half a mind to show you how wrong you might be, but the joke would definitely be on me if my back went out again.”

  “Don’t risk it, horndog. So will you tell me? How you’d…?”

  “How I’d make love to you? Yes. I’d be glad to. But I’ll get hard in the telling, so beware.”

  “I s’pect I will too. Worse things have happened. Go on.”

  “You bet. So.” Brice kissed Lucas’s cheek. “Here we go. Ready?”

  “Yep.”

  “First of all, I’d kiss you. Long and deep. May I do that now?”

  “Yep,” Lucas whispered, wrapping an arm around Brice’s neck and nuzzling his face. The two men embraced. They spent long, sweet minutes sharing kiss after kiss.

  Brice pulled away. “Yeah. Like that.”

  “Then?”

  “Then I’d lie on top of you and move my mouth down to your nipples. I love your nipples. Tiny little pink points just aching to be licked and lapped and sucked. Would you like that? Are your nips sensitive like mine?”

  “Yeah, they are. I play with ‘em when I jack off. But another man’s never done that. Other than a couple truckers who wanted to suck me off, about all the guys I’ve been with have just fucked my face or my ass. Just used me as a tight hole.”

  “Even Eric?”

  “Yeah. He’d hold me after he butt-fucked me, but, naw, he never fooled with my tits.”