The Man from Swift Current
By: Russ Nielsen
(© 2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 35

We awoke at the same time and looked into each other’s eyes.   I had my arms around Rick and the heat from his body made it seem like we were wrapped inside a warm cocoon.   I love the feel of his body next to mine in the morning!   There is nothing like waking up to the one that you love.   I felt loved and very safe from the world after the events of yesterday.   I hope Rick feels the same way. 

Rick was the first to speak, “Thank you for last night, Glenn.   You knew just the right things to do to help me get my mind around the fact that my mother had gone off the deep end about me being gay.    Even my dad wasn’t very happy about it.   It hurts me so much to know how they have rejected me and my beloved partner.   I guess I had hoped that they would as accepting and supportive as your grandparents.   I know now that it was an unfounded hope given my Mom’s background.   I’m sure that she has everyone in the county out to hunt me down to put an end to my sinful ways no matter the cost!”  

“That might be true, Rick, but you are here with me now and I will do my best to protect you from them,” I said knowing that would bring a smile to Rick’s face.

“Yeah, right!” Rick said laughing at me   “I’m the one who does the protecting around here.   I thought we had an understanding about that.”

“We do.   You protect me and I protect you.   That’s how it works,” I said seriously looking him directly in the eyes and brushing my fingertips against his cheek.

Rick eyes brightened with the tears that suddenly found their way there.    It was a few minutes before he said, “I know I should be grateful to my Dad for warning us to get out of town before my Mom and Uncle George had time to call up a posse to put things “right” so to speak but I can’t help feeling deeply hurt that he didn’t reach out to me more than he did.”

Rick stopped, again, to gain control of his emotions, “I’ve not only seen Uncle George and his buddies administer justice to others in the community for breaking their rules but I’ve experienced it first-hand when Angie’s brothers assaulted and nearly beat me to death for getting their sister pregnant.   I just hope they will leave us alone.   Knowing how zealous they are, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they sent someone down to Atlanta to rectify the situation.   The thought of any harm coming to you makes me shiver.   The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that we need to move to another apartment just to ensure our safety.   Remind me to talk to your Grandpa about finding us a new place to live.”

I looked tenderly at my lover and felt a rush of love for him wash over me.   Rick must have sensed how I was feeling because he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.

 “I love waking up next to you, Babe.   You were quite the animal last night!   I’m not sure I can even move this morning,” I said pulling Rick even closer to me.   We rubbed noses.

“I didn’t hear you complaining about it last night,” Rick said playfully twisting my nipples.

“I’m not complaining now either, sweetheart, just merely stating facts,” I laughed.   “You are going to have to repeat your performance of last night if you keep teasing me like that!”

“Is that an invitation?” Rick said raising his eyebrows and continuing to caress my chest.

“What do you think?” I responded grinning widely.

Rick didn’t answer but instead rolled over on top of me and proceeded to repeat his performance of the night before only this time it was truly love-making.   Rick whispered to me, “I want you to feel my love for you in every fiber of your being.”   He was true to his word!

*** ***

“Rick that was just as mind blowing as last night,” I said as he lay on top of me completely spent.

“I want to make sure you never forget just how much I love you, Babe,” he said capturing my lips, again.  “Let’s get a shower together.   I feel like having some more fun with you!”

“I guess we don’t have to worry about hot water since we’re at a hotel,” I said as big grin spread across my face.

He pulled me up out of bed and led me to the shower.   He adjusted the temperature of the water and pulled me into the shower with him.   With the water cascading down our faces, Rick looked me in the eyes as he wrapped his arms around me and captured my lips.   We luxuriated in the hot water of the shower as we continued where we left off in the bedroom.   Rick’s hunger for me seemed inexhaustible.   Wow!   I knew Rick loved me but his passion seemed to be reaching new heights this morning.  

*** ***

With our passion for each other sated, we cleaned each other up scrubbing each other’s backs and enjoying the feel of the soap on our skin as we ran our hands over each other’s bodies.   By the time we finished, my skin tingled all over from Rick’s touch.   I felt so close to my lover boy as he took care of me and gave me one last tender kiss before he turned off the water.   We dried each other off and helped each other get dressed.   It is part of our morning ritual.   I pick out the clothes I want Rick to wear and he does the same for me.   I like to choose the most tight-fitting clothes I can find to show off my lover’s nicely sculpted muscles.   Rick always laughs because of his reluctance to show off his body.   I always insist that he needs to show off for me now that we are lovers.   He’s so sexy when he’s dressed in his muscle shirt and tight fitting jeans.   I love the way he turns heads (both guys and girls) as he walks down the street.  

As usual, I picked out the tightest fitting clothes Rick brought with him.   Rick said, “You know how self conscious I am about the size of my package.   I’ve never been one to publicize the fact that I’m so well endowed and I’ve always tried to hide that fact in the locker room.”  

He looked over at me and said, “I know what you’re thinking:   How can a guy who has chased so many women be so self conscious?   Easy!   Just have an ex-girlfriend like Angie.   Anyway, I like my pants baggy.   However, I do like muscle shirts!   I love showing off my chest and arms.   It’s really a turn on for the girls!”   He gave me a mischievous grin and said, “I know it’s even more of a turn on for you.   I know you really, really like running your hands over my bare chest and arms massaging the muscles as you go.”

“Rick, what are you thinking about?” I asked coyly as I ran my hands up and down his huge arms.

Rick responded leering at me, “Do you even have to ask?”

“No, I don’t have to ask but I like to hear you say it anyway,” I laughed reaching down to grab his rigid member and pulling him closer to me.

“I was thinking I should fuck your brains out before we get dressed.   How does that sound?” Rick asked wrapping his arms around me.

“You are such a horn dog!   We just had sex twice this morning!   And you want to do it, again?”  I teased him.

“Mr. Nielsen, may I have the pleasure of your company on our bed?” he asked as he pulled me down on the bed with him.

“It looks like you’ve already got me where you want me!”

“Yep, I do,” was his reply.

That was the last of our spoken conversation for some time.

I know what you’re thinking but having sex with Rick isn’t just about getting our rocks off.   It’s so much more than that, especially now.   For us, it’s more about expressing our love for each other and it deepens our feelings for each other.   The last few days have been so stressful for both of us that having sex has been a welcome way to reaffirm our commitment to each other.

About an hour later or so, we finally got dressed and made it down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.   As we walked in, my grandparents waved us over to their table.   They were just finishing up and indicated we should join them.

Grandma spoke first, “Good morning boys.   Glenn, I’m glad to see you are taking good care of Rick.”

I looked over at Rick in surprise.   He looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders.   He was as clueless as I was.

Seeing the puzzled looks on our faces, Grandma elaborated on her statement, “Glenn look at Rick’s neck a little closer.”

I leaned closer to Rick and looked at his neck.   I started to chuckle, “Good one, Grandma.   I will have to learn not to leave marks on my guy.”

“It’s kind of obvious my dear,” Grandma said smiling at us.

Rick reached up and touched his neck.   The memory of Glenn’s passionate kisses had things stirring down below.   I placed my left hand on Rick’s thigh and pulled his hand away from his neck with my right one.

“It’s okay, Babe.   It’s not as noticeable as you might think,” I said with a broad smile.   I kept rubbing my hand up and down his thigh making his shorts uncomfortably tight.

Rick finally grabbed my hand and leaned over to whisper in my ear, “I can’t believe you’re being so forward with me in front of our grandparents.” 

I looked across the table at my grandparents to see if they had noticed anything.   Of course, all the action was going on under the table but I’m sure Grandma hadn’t missed a single thing.  I can be such a wicked tease sometimes.

“Rick, are you okay?” Grandma asked innocently enough.

“I’m fine thanks, Grandma.   I’m still just a little tired that’s all.”

“Rick, can I tell our grandparents about what happened yesterday?” I asked,

Everyone looked at Rick expectantly.   He sat thinking it over.   He turned and gazed into my eyes.   I could tell he wasn’t sure he wanted to admit to anyone what had happened yesterday.   I never expected his parents to react the way they did.   After a couple of more minutes of silence, I said, “It’s okay if you don’t want me to say anything.   I just thought they might be able to give us some advice about the situation.”

“Okay, you can tell them,” Rick said sadly, tears sparkling in his eyes.   I reached over and took his hand in mine to comfort him.

I related what had happened with his parents and asked them for their advice.

“It’s too bad that your parents reacted so negatively, Rick,” Grandpa said.   “I do sympathize with them, however.   It was really a shock to us when Eva told us that Glenn’s brother, Randy, was gay and had married his partner.   Then when Eva told us that Glenn was gay as well, we decided we had better figure out where we both stood on the subject.”

“How long did it take you come to terms with your grandsons being gay,” Rick asked hoping that it wasn’t a long time.  

Grandma spoke up first, “Rick, to be honest, we still aren’t completely there, yet.”   Seeing the fear on his face, she added, “Now don’t overact, Rick.   We aren’t anti-gay or anything.   We just haven’t totally accepted the fact that we won’t have any grandchildren from Randy or Glenn.”

“I’m trying hard to remedy that Grandma,” Rick said laughing at my blushing face.   Even Grandpa laughed at my reaction.  

“We kind of suspected that’s how things were going between you two,” Grandpa said chuckling a little still.   “Glenn, you have no need to be embarrassed.   You have to remember your grandparents are still very observant people and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on between you two, especially since you were exactly very discrete while you were staying with us!”

Grandma took over the conversation from there, “In fact, the time you spent with us helped us realize how much you love each other and that you deserve our love and support no matter what.   You could say we have gotten to a point where we have come to terms with the idea that two guys can have a successful relationship that is nurturing and fulfilling.”

Hearing these words did a number on Rick’s head.   The sense of love and understanding he felt radiating from the two people across the table from him was almost too overwhelming for him.  

“Why can’t my parents be more like you?” Rick asked blinking his eyes several times to clear away the tears that had suddenly started to form.   I could see that he was trying to keep from sobbing.  

“My heart hurts so much from my parents’ rejection,” he continued, his voice choking as tears flowed down his cheeks.

I slipped my arm around his waist as I snuggled closer to Rick.   After a few moments of silence, he said, “Glenn always knows when I need him.   I have been blessed with the best life partner ever!”

I reached up and wiped his tears away, “Everything will work out for the best, sweetheart.”

The waitress came back with our food just then and gave Rick and me an odd look as she set our plates down in front of us.

Grandpa said, “Would you bring us another cup of coffee and some sweet rolls?”

“Sure.   I will be right back,” she said giving us a disapproving look.

I said, “I can’t stand people who look down their noses at other people.”

Grandma agreed, “Neither can I.   But you do have to be careful what you do in public, Glenn.   There are a lot of hateful, vicious people around here.   Remember you are in the Deep South and many people have a very deep-seated hatred towards anyone who doesn’t fit their idea of normal.”

“Your Grandma is right, Glenn,” Rick said, “I’ve been subjected to that same hatred.   That’s why I took my Dad’s warning so seriously yesterday.”

“I know you are both right but it’s so hard not to show Rick how much I love him.   He’s just so cute and cuddly.  I just can’t resist giving him hugs and kisses all the time!” I said giving my lover boy a quick one-armed hug.

“Cute!  Cuddly!  Since when did I become cute and cuddly?” Rick protested, “I have never been cute and cuddly in my life.   I prefer rugged and handsome!”   He glared at me which caused me to grin even more.

“Do you see how cute he gets when he’s mad?   How could you not love him?” I asked my grandparents.

Grandpa started to chuckle, “Rick, I think you have met your match!”

Grandma chimed in as well, “Rick, Glenn is right.   You do look cute and cuddly but I wouldn’t tell your buddies if I were you!”

“You are all gaining up on me!” Rick exclaimed.

As the waitress approached our table with the coffee and sweet rolls, I caught everyone off guard when I leaned over and gave Rick a passionate kiss right then and there!   I didn’t stop until Rick pulled back.   The look on the waitress’ face was priceless!   My goal was to shock the waitress and it worked!

The waitress stood there speechless until Grandpa said, “Thank you, Miss for bringing the coffee.   If you would just leave the coffee pot here, we will serve ourselves.”

Grandpa’s request jarred her from her stupor.   She set the coffee pot on the table along with the plate of sweet rolls and left muttering under her breath.

“Glenn, you are such an evil person today.   You upset that woman so much she couldn’t even think!” Rick chided me with a grin on his face.

I responded defensively, “She deserved to be shocked out of her self-righteous state.”

Grandpa said, “But that is the kind of behavior that inflames people’s hatred.   You need to be careful you don’t add fuel to a dangerous situation.”

“Why should I have to hide who I am from everyone?   Why can straight people hug and kiss in public and gays can’t?   Everyone here talks about equality and freedom for all in this country.   Is that just a slogan that makes everyone feel good?   Or is it just for the privileged few?  Maybe my Dad was right after all, Americans are all talk and no action!   At least in Canada, we don’t try to force our own views on everyone else!”

“We hear your frustrations, Glenn,” Grandpa said, “But we want you to be safe.   The facts are that there are too many ignorant people who don’t know how to react to something they have been taught is a wrong.   They are so busy safeguarding themselves from sin that they lose sight of the rights of others in the process.”

“Your Grandpa is right about being careful,’ Grandma said, “You two must learn to be more guarded in your behavior towards each other in public.   I don’t want to receive any phone calls from the police telling me one or both of you has been hurt.”

“Not only that boys,” Grandpa continued, “The likelihood that anyone would be brought to justice for hate crimes against gays is very slim because even the police and our honorable judges are part of the same culture of hatred and don’t see anything wrong with the people taking things into their own hands.   It hasn’t been that long ago that the Ku Klux Klan was allowed to run rampant through the countryside hanging innocent people.   Those kinds of people are still among us today and are allowed to continue to run roughshod over the laws of this country by our elected officials and our law enforcement.”

“Grandpa,” I asked, “I thought many of the prejudices of the past had been eradicated since the civil rights movement started in the ‘60s?”

“No, they haven’t been eliminated.   They have just gone underground but they are still there and manifest themselves under the cloak of conservatism and other names for the religious right.   They want everyone to conform to their idea of what is morally correct and their definition of who is qualified to be considered a human being.   Remember that many of the folks who call themselves conservatives today are descendants of former slave owners and they haven’t stopped believing that they are a cut above everyone else and that the rest of us are here just to serve them.   The word “equality” doesn’t exist in their vocabulary.”

“Wow!   Grandpa!   I didn’t know you were such a vehement democrat!” I exclaimed.

“I’m not a democrat.   I’m an independent because I don’t like either political party.   Both parties pay lip service to the idea of equality for everyone.   They don’t believe in the U.S. Constitution as a document guaranteeing freedom for all.   They see it as a way to get power and to enrich themselves at the expense of others.   There have been attempts to start other political parties but they have the same goals:  Power and Money.”

Grandma interrupted, “Now let’s not continue the political discussion.   We have too much to do today to spend our time in idle talk about politics.   Now that the boys have finished eating their breakfast, we need to be moving towards the Mitchell home to help with the preparations for tomorrow’s big event.”

We all got up from the table and headed to our respective rooms to retrieve our things for the day and to freshen up before leaving.

Rick and I drove over in the Jeep.   Rick quickly glanced over at me and said, “How are we going to handle Ruth Ann today?”

I didn’t answer right away, “I don’t know, Babe.   I haven’t figured out a way to tell her that I’m in love with you without causing a big scene.   I don’t want to ruin Keith’s wedding by focusing attention on us.”

“I agree with you about not creating a distraction from the main event.   I’m still a little nervous about how I would react if Ruth Ann keeps making advances on my guy!   I’ve never felt this way before, Glenn, and it has me just a little unsettled.   I guess I’ve never had a reason to be jealous of anyone until now.   And even now, I really don’t have a good reason to be jealous because I know you love me,” Rick said.

“Let’s play it by ear and if I need you to rescue me we can us the same signs we used at your family reunion,” I said thoughtfully.

“Okay, but don’t let things get too out of hand before you signal me to come to the rescue,” Rick said seriously.

Rick need not have worried.   Things were so very busy for all of us that no one had any time to think of anything else but the wedding preparations.   The wedding rehearsal went off without a hitch as did the rehearsal dinner.   We were both exhausted by the end of the day.   We returned to our hotel room and collapsed on the bed.   We both fell asleep in our clothes we were so tired.

To be continued...

Posted: 12/30/11