Chapter 1: Making a Match
I had never attended a rodeo before in my life. Being from Southern California, I knew more about riding waves than I did about riding horses. But I liked the look of a man in jeans with cowboy boots and hat, so when my friends, partners Jacob and Chris, asked if I wanted to join them and go to the Nevada Gay Rodeo, I said yes, never imagining what road I had embarked upon, what step toward destiny I had taken, what line I had crossed.
I had moved to Las Vegas only a couple years before and enjoyed working in one of the large casinos there. Life was fine, although it wasn't headed in any particular direction. I worked, had a few friends, explored the desert, often alone, and stayed away from most other trappings of Vegas life. I hoped for love and companionship, like everybody else, I suppose, but in my private time, I had my own ideas of what that meant and never really shared them with anybody. I was just sort of there, just sort of getting by, and I wondered if there was anything more I could expect out of life.
When the day came to attend the rodeo, Jacob and Chris came by my apartment, and we rode three abreast in Jacob's pick up truck. They both wore cowboy gear, with cowboy boots and hat. I owned none of these things, so I went in jeans, t-shirt and baseball cap.
When we arrived at Rodeo Park on the south side of Vegas, how could I have imagined that my friends had invited me specifically to meet a man named Rob Carter? This friend, unbeknownst to me, had particular interests and desires in life, and without consulting me, my own friends had determined that I might possibly meet those needs and desires rather closely. While I can say that I wish they had discussed it all with me beforehand, I am happy with the way things turned out. And Jacob insists that if they had discussed it all with me beforehand, I may not have gone to the rodeo and may never have agreed to meet Rob Carter. Jacob and Chris remain in my life, though we don't relate to each other quite as friends anymore, and I feel comfortable knowing that they never actually misled me or guided me anywhere I didn't want to go. They merely arranged for a possibility to take place, and I embraced that possibility.
Jacob, Chris and I all enjoyed the rodeo reasonably well, and afterward we waited a short time for Jacob's friend to be done behind the rodeo scenes and come to meet us in the concession area. When I first saw Rob Carter walking our way, I felt a bit of a pang in my chest. He was an interesting figure. I guessed him to be in his 40s or early 50s, nicely built, not especially good-looking in the face, but handsome in his masculinity and his look of intelligence and kindness. I noticed right off the bat that he had a bit of a bulge in his jeans, such that the jeans were worn to a much lighter shade of blue at the crotch. But it wasn't that that caused the pang in my chest. It was his apparent naturalness, his ease and presence, the way he seemed to occupy the time and space in which he existed.
Rob Carter came up to Jacob and Chris and gave them each a friendly hello-hug. They all talked very briefly about how much they had enjoyed the rodeo, and then they turned to me, as I stood there waiting.
"Is this the boy you were telling me about?" asked Rob Carter.
"Boy?" I thought to myself. I was well into my 30s and hadn't been called "boy" in some time. I offered my hand for a handshake, but Rob Carter did not take it. He merely smiled very pleasantly and said, "Hi boy!" He nodded his head slightly as a greeting to me but kept his hands at his hips as his eyes went from the top of my head, down to my toes, and back again. "So, this is your first rodeo?"
"Yes, sir," I responded with the at-ease naturalness with which many men may say "Yes, sir" to exude a friendly and peaceful tone. I remember, though, that Rob Carter seemed to hear it with a slight smile and a sense that, perhaps, this is the way he expected to be addressed. What I remember most is that my internal, private, secret sense of love and intimacy was being activated.
Rob and my friends Jacob and Chris, without any acknowledgement to me, began walking to the stables where the rodeo animals were. I followed behind, feeling very much the odd man out.
As we followed Rob Carter, I admired the fine ass on the man. Again, I felt something activated within me, an interest, a spark, an uncontrollable light inside me. In addition to the men walking in front of me, I appreciated the natural aromas of the place and the up-close views of the animals, not to mention all the other men about the place.
Rob Carter and my friends stopped at where Rob, apparently, had some things to pick up. The three of them seemed to sort of huddle and share a word or two among themselves before they looked back at me. When I noticed Rob Carter looking my way, I smiled sheepishly and nodded my head. Rob turned right back to Jacob and seemed to say something with confidence and shook Jacob's hand. Then, Rob Carter picked up his things and showed us all out to the parking lot via a back exit.
Once outside, Mr. Carter turned and walked up to me, stopping only a foot or so in front of me. I am about 5 feet and 9 inches, and Rob Carter stood some inches above me, to about 6 feet and three inches, I'd have guessed. He addressed me, "So, boy, I hear you enjoyed yourself tonight."
"Again with the `boy'," I thought to myself, but I simply nodded my head yes.
"Well, then, I invite you over to my place next weekend so you can see how my ranch works and spend more time among my animals. Would you like that?"
"Yes, sir!" I blurted out without any forethought. I knew I wanted to go, but I was not sure why I added the "sir".
I noted Jacob and Chris standing nearby. Both of them were looking at me, smiling as if they were eagerly awaiting my answer.
I added, "Sounds good, and I don't have much else to do. It's the start of a 2-week vacation for me, and I haven't made any plans. So, sure, and thank you, sir."
Again I threw in that "sir". I wanted to knock myself upside the head.
Rob Carter nodded his head slightly and said, "Good. Jacob told me your vacation was starting. Sounds like good timing. Jacob says he will drive you out to my place. It's in northern Arizona, a few hours or so from here."
Rob turned from me without any sort of farewell and said his goodbyes to Jacob and Chris and then walked away and presumably toward his vehicle.
As we walked back to Jacob's truck, I wondered why Rob Carter would ask me to his place. He didn't seem to have much interest in me, romantically at least, though I certainly felt an attraction to him.
"Glad you're going," Jacob said to me as we loaded into his truck. "Rob's place is great. I think you'll love it."
On the drive back to my apartment, I explained that I don't have any clothes or boots that might be suitable for a ranch. Chris jumped in and told me that I won't need anything special, that I can pack very lightly, that anything I may need will be provided for me.
I hesitated a few moments and then asked, "Is this some sort of date or something? Is Rob interested in me?" Jacob responded, "Rob may have an interest in you, but it is not as a date. He already has a partner, a husband. He's just a friendly guy who likes to share his ranch."
Jacob must have noticed me crinkle my face some, for he quickly added, "Just go. Both Rob and Frank are great guys. You'll have a great time, and they've got an amazing ranch."
During the week that followed, I went to work as normal and thought little about my coming visit to Rob Carter's property. By Wednesday, though, Jacob began texting me about arrangements for picking me up on Friday after work, about eating dinner at Rosemary's Diner in Arizona and stopping at a motel for the night before continuing to Rob's ranch on Saturday morning. On Thursday, Jacob texted that it would be great if I cleared my vacation time, in case I wanted to spend a week or so at Rob Carter's ranch. He reminded me at least twice to just pack some basics, insisting that I would need next to nothing in terms of clothing, whether I stayed for a single night or several. "Rob will take care of everything. Don't worry. You'll see."
So, when Rob and Chris arrived to pick me up, I was wearing shorts, a tank, and some old sneakers. I carried only a backpack, which contained my toiletries and a change of clothes or two.
We enjoyed our meal at Rosemary's Diner and then headed east toward Flagstaff, until Jacob pulled over in Seligman and found a motel for the night.
We shared a room with two king-sized beds, Jacob and Chris in one and myself in the other. Since I hadn't masturbated in a couple days, I really wanted to jack off, but as I was not alone, I did not. We all simply called it a day early and went to sleep by 10 o'clock.
By 6:00 in the morning, Jacob and Chris were up and rousing me out of bed. "Come on, wake up. We want to arrive and Rob's place early."
We grabbed a quick free breakfast in the motel lobby and then went back to our room to get our belongings. I said I wanted a quick shower and took off my clothes and hopped in for a quick rinse. When I came out of the shower, I was surprised to find that Chris had already loaded my stuff, including the clothing I needed to wear, into Jacob's truck. I stood there with a towel wrapped around my waist and said, "Hey, what am I supposed to wear!" "Here!" Chris reached into his overnight bag and threw me some cut-offs. "Put these on." I rolled my eyes but fit myself into his cut-offs, which were kind of short and split up the sides a bit. I felt like my goods could fall out. Jacob chimed in, "Come on. You look fine. Just get in the truck."
So, I walked out of the motel wearing only the cut-offs and my sandals, the only item of protective wear that had not been loaded on the truck, and climbed in the vehicle after Jacob and Chris. I wanted to put on a shirt, but as Jacob quickly started the truck and began to drive, Chris said he put my backpack in the bed of the pick up, so I could just wait.
We only had about an hour or so of driving before reaching Rob Carter's property, and little did I know that this whole trip was designed to see if I could become Rob's property.
Our conversations over the hourlong drive included Jacob asking me about my hikes alone in the desert. "Didn't you tell me you go off to places where you can walk stark naked in the desert?"
"Yeah, I love it. Just me in nature. Just my naked body and earth and sky and nothing else. It's great."
"Well, you can be naked on Rob's ranch. He has 80 acres or so, I think."
"Really? Won't there be somebody there who objects to nudity?"
"No way! Rob and his partner have mostly male friends, and some of them being naked seems to be rather normal at their place."
"So, that's why you told me I didn't need to pack many clothes for this trip."
"Yeah, I guess. In fact, we can drop you off right after we drive onto Rob's property, and you can get naked and hike the short distance to where Rob's house is. Wouldn't that be cool? You might be the first guest ever to arrive at Rob's house naked. Wouldn't that be cool! It's a great morning for it."
"Are you being serious?"
"Yeah, of course. Why not?"
"Well, I could use a little walk, so sure. Why not, if you think it's okay?" I answered. I actually liked the idea, so I wasn't exactly hesitant to agree to it. I wish I could live naked.
I thought I saw a kind of wry smile cross Jacob's face, but I didn't think much about it. Jacob turned the truck off the highway and soon turned onto a dirt road. After about 10 minutes of driving among junipers and occasional ash trees, he then turned onto a small drive, stopped the truck, and said, "Well, this is it! Get out!"
I stepped out of the truck and removed the cut-offs I was wearing. Chris said, "Just throw those in the back of the truck. You won't need them."
So, there I stood, buck naked but for sandals, until Jacob called out, "The way to Rob's house is all pretty soft and smooth dirt, so you don't need those sandals."
I hesitated, doubtful that I could walk without sandals, so Jacob said, "Come on, you don't need them, and you will really be able to feel there is nothing between you and your nature."
So, I took off my sandals and dropped them in the back of the truck along with the cut-offs.
"You could walk along the drive, but if you start over there, you will notice a kind of footpath. Just follow it. You'll like that better."
I reached into the truck and took a large swig of water from a plastic bottle. "Okay. I guess I'm ready. You're sure about this? This is okay?"
"Yeah, sure I'm sure. Rob will get a kick out of it, seeing you walk up to him totally naked and carrying nothing."
So, with the morning sun beginning to warm my bare skin, I said, "See you there," and headed toward the place where Jacob indicated a footpath began. I had barely started walking when Jacob and Chris already started driving off, leaving me feeling rather naked and alone.
Upon finding the start of the footpath, I took a deep breath. I enjoyed feeling the earth beneath my bare feet. I stretched my arms out to the sky and felt that glorious feeling of being natural among all the elements of the universe. I am just one naked creature on earth, I thought, under sky and sun. I took another life-affirming deep breath and relaxed into my own being, into my nature and into the time and space at hand. I felt authentic and pure, like "this is who and what I am, just a being on Mother Earth." I had no thoughts of my job or of responsibilities, of bills to pay, of things I needed to do. I loved it. Such freedom. "This is going to be a great vacation," I thought to myself.
With a sense of relief from the tensions of the world and of my own clouded mind, I began my short and leisurely walk toward Rob Carter's house, on Rob Carter's ranch, toward Rob Carter himself.