Double Trails - Chapter Fifty-Three

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Chapter Fifty-Three

- Erik -

As Tracer drove the truck down I-81, I sat there thinking about the week to come. I rested my left hand on his knee and squeezed lightly. He turned his head slightly and smiled at me. I turned and looked in the back seat. Will was leaning into the door and Ryan was snuggled up against him.

"I'm gonna miss you," Tracer said quietly, as we pulled onto the airport access road.

"I'll miss you, too."

I thought Ryan was going to cry as we pulled our luggage from under the tonneau cover of the truck. We all hugged briefly, and the guys climbed back into the truck. I wrapped my arm around Ryan as we watched the truck drive away.

We checked in at the United counter and walked to the gate.

"How are your nerves?" I asked.

"My nerves are shot. I'm gonna miss Will. I'm scared about meeting Christian. I'm just a mess I guess."

"You'll be fine. Christian's not going to hate you. He's not going to judge you."

"Flight 2742 to Charlotte now boarding," a voice announced over the loudspeaker.

"That's us," Ryan explained.

We grabbed our carry-on bags and headed to the gate.

"Duck when you get to the doorway," I warned Ryan. "These little regional jets aren't tall enough for you - even in the aisle."

"We're the same height."

"That's why I'm warning you," I replied, with a grin.

We got settled into our seats – fortunately, I'd booked us on the two seat side of the plane.

"It's weird to think I'm this old and have never flown before," Ryan said.

"Scared?"

"Not a bit. I guess I'm still more worried about other things..."

We continued to chat as the plane took off, and we were on our way.

Ryan and I made it to Denver International Airport by early afternoon, as our luck had held and the flights had been on time. Things changed when we got to Denver. The weather in Casper was miserable and the airport was closed.

"What did they say?" I asked Ryan, as he got back from the counter.

"Most of the early flights were canceled. Ours and later flights are marked as delayed. They hope to get the three-fifteen flight off around six and there is a later flight as well."

"So, we've got about three hours till our flight. Why don't we walk down to the main part of the terminal and get a snack. Maybe you can get your laptop connected to the Internet through..."

"Wi-Fi," Ryan supplied.

We grabbed our bags and walked down the terminal to the central hub. We found a snack, a table, and Ryan pulled out his laptop and started trying to connect to the Wi-Fi.

"It all costs," he said. "It's not really worth it."

"No problem. I doubt Will and Tracer will be online anytime soon anyway."

"They should be there soon. But what about us?"

"We'll check with United later."

We sat there and talked about different things for a while. About five p.m. we walked down to the check-in counter and found out that the flight was, in fact, going to take off at six.

"I'll call Christian and let him know. That should put us there, with time to get our luggage, about seven-thirty."

After a day spent going from one airport to another, to yet another, the flight to Casper was mercifully short. We got to the luggage carousel and started waiting for our bags.

"RYAN!" I heard yelled from behind me. We both had started to turn, when Ryan was tackled by a flying body.

"Ryan. I'm Christian," the young man half-attached to Ryan said.

"As you can tell, I'm Ryan," Ryan said with a big grin. "This is my dad, Erik."

"Ryan Erik Chamberlain and Erik Ryan Chamberlain," Christian said. "I've memorized your e-mails."

"I'm Jackson," the tall man behind Christian said.

"Nice to meet you, Sir," Ryan replied.

"No need for `Sir'," Jackson said. "You're my son's half-brother – I guess that sets a level of familiarity. I'm sure you two are tired from traveling all day. Let's get your luggage and head east."

We got our bags piled into Jackson's SUV and drove into Casper, where Jackson pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.

"I figured we'd eat before heading out to the house," Jackson said.

"Dad's not the best cook," Christian added.

"No worries," Dad replied.

Over dinner, Christian started peppering Ryan with questions. After four months of e-mails, you would have thought he'd already know everything. I soon realized that he just wanted to know everything, and I mean everything about Ryan.

"Christian, take a breath. Heck, stop a moment and take a bite of your dinner," Jackson scolded, with love in his voice.

"Sorry, Dad."

"I think he wants to know everything about you from the moment you were born," Jackson concluded.

"Aw, Dad," Christian replied.

"It's not a problem. I've always said that I wanted a brother," Ryan said. "Now I have one."

He put his arm around Christian's shoulder, as I watched from across the booth.

"So tell me about Will," Christian said, as he started back on his questions.

"Huh?" Ryan replied. He gave me a worried look.

"Will. The guy in a couple of your pictures," Christian explained.

"He's my best friend," Ryan said.

"Oh," Christian said. I thought I heard a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"We've known each other since our sophomore year of high school."

"Cool."

"You see him much now?"

"We're roommates at college," Ryan explained.

"COOL." Christian enthused.

We finished eating and Jackson drove us to their house. As at dinner, Christian didn't stop asking questions. When we got to the house, Christian offered. "I'll help you with your stuff."

"We're putting y'all in Christian's room – it has twin beds. Christian's going to take the sofa bed in the basement."

I could tell from the look on Christian's face that he wasn't too happy about the arrangements. I figured he wanted twenty-four hour access to Ryan.

"Sounds fine," I replied.

We lugged our stuff into the house and threw our bags into the room. Christian then gave us the quick tour of their place. As we got back to the living room, I yawned.

"We should let them get some rest," Jackson said to Christian.

"Aw, Dad," Christian's voice had a hint of a whine in it. "It's only nine-thirty!"

"It's eleven-thirty where they started," Jackson reminded him.

"Plus, we're farm boys," I explained. "I'm usually in bed by nine or nine-thirty."

"We're going to have five whole days to talk," Ryan added.

"Christian and I should be getting to bed as well," Jackson said. "We're not going to be good hosts if we're asleep when you wake up."

"I don't know if you want to wake up at five every morning," I warned.

"That's not a whole lot different from my normal time," Jackson admitted. "See you both in the morning."

Ryan and I went down the hallway and into the bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, Ryan commented, "This room reminds me a lot of mine when I was thirteen."

Ryan started looking at the pictures on the wall.

"Oh, SHIT," he said.

I walked over and looked at the picture with him.

"That's her, isn't it?" Ryan said. "I don't really remember her."

I stared at the picture. It was of a frail looking woman with no hair lying in a hospital bed. Christian was lying next to her.

"That sure does look like her. Between the seventeen years we haven't seen her and what looks like a lot of abuse from chemo, she's changed a lot."

"I hated her," he said. "I mean really full out HATED her. I wished her dead. I wanted her to hurt as much as she hurt me! Looking at this picture, I can only feel sad. Sad for Christian having to watch his mother destroyed by cancer. Sad for her and the pain it must have put her through. And most importantly, sad that she lost out on me."

"That's a mature attitude," I complimented him. "She did lose out."

Ryan turned and stared at me.

"Not in my case," I explained. "I'm guessing our marriage would have fallen apart eventually – once I figured out I was gay. I truly mean she lost out not knowing what a fantastic young man you've grown into."

"Thanks, Dad."

Ryan returned to looking at pictures and was quiet a few minutes. "Umm...Dad, look at this."

Ryan was pointing to a photograph tucked into the frame of the mirror attached to Christian's dresser. It was an old three by five and I recognized the shot instantly. It was from Ryan's fourth birthday party. Ryan's happy face with a front tooth missing was at the center, and his mother, Kaitlyn, was right behind him. It looked like he was about to blow out the candles.

"I wonder how he got this?" Ryan asked.

"I'm guessing from the same stash of stuff where Jackson found information about you."

"Makes sense."

I went back to getting ready for bed. Ryan finished looking at all the pictures in the room, then did the same. I crawled under the covers and rolled onto my side. A few minutes later, Ryan climbed in next to me.

"I haven't slept with my daddy since I was little."

"I was just thinking the same thing. Some bad dream or thunderstorm would scare you, and I'd hear you running to my room."

"You always made me feel so safe."

"That's part of my job."

"Love you!" he said.

"Love you, too," I replied. "Night."

I reached over and turned off the light on the nightstand. It didn't take many minutes for me to fall asleep.

I woke up at my normal time – well my normal time for home. It was three a.m. according to the clock by the bed. I rolled over and tried hard to go back to sleep. I slept fitfully for about two more hours and then gave up. I figured five a.m. local time was reasonable. As I rolled carefully out of bed, I was unsurprised to hear Ryan say `good morning' to me.

"Morning," I replied. "Ready for day one?"

"Hehehe... that's really what it is, isn't it. Not that it's a bad thing."

"Not at all. But you have to be prepared. Based on Christian's intensity last night, he's gonna be turned on from the moment he sees you till you go to bed tonight."

"True that. I'm most concerned about two issues – my being gay and `her'. Otherwise, I'm an open book."

"Understood. If either comes up, just do your best to work through it calmly. Let's get dressed and head to the kitchen. I could use a cup of coffee."

"You and me both!"

We got dressed and quietly walked out of the room. I didn't hear anyone else stirring. Once in the kitchen, Ryan checked the coffee maker – found it ready to go and turned it on.

"The smell of coffee might wake them up," I said, in a hushed voice.

"Yup," Ryan agreed.

We stood in the kitchen quietly until the coffee finished brewing. Once we had coffee in our mugs, we walked over to the island and sat down. We had been sitting quietly for a few minutes when I heard footsteps.

"Morning," Jackson said, as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning," we replied.

"We got the coffee ready," Ryan said.

"Thanks. My morning doesn't get started till I get at least one cup of joe down," Jackson explained.

I was about to comment, when we heard Christian bounding up the stairs from the basement. Within seconds, he came running into the kitchen.

"Morning!" he enthused.

"Morning," we all replied.

"So what's on the agenda for today," I asked.

"No agenda," Jackson said quickly. I got the feeling he was trying to rein in Christian a bit. "Just time to talk and get to know one another."

"I do want to introduce Ryan to my friends!" Christian explained.

"We'll set something up for later in the week," Jackson said. "Today – let it be just the two of you."

"How about you show me around town," Ryan suggested to Christian.

"OK."

"The other thing I was going to suggest was that we go horseback riding. Since you're learning, I thought it would be something we could do together," Ryan added.

"That would be great. You could give me some pointers," Christian agreed.

"Ryan's a good teacher. He does a lot of work with our beginning riders," I explained. "Do you ride?" I asked, looking at Jackson.

"Some, but not very well. Kaitlynn got Christian started in the class about a year and a half back."

"So you're pretty far along," Ryan said.

"I'm not that good," Christian said.

"He missed a lot of classes over the summer and fall while Kaitlynn was in the hospital," Jackson explained. "So he's fallen behind the class."

"Are they fairly flexible on rentals?" Ryan asked. "I didn't think to ask – are they open this week?"

"Yes, to both," Jackson replied.

"We close our farm each year around Christmas to give ourselves and the staff a break."

"That's nice," Christian said. "Like being off from school with nothing to do!"

"Not quite," Ryan explained. "Animals don't understand holidays, so there's plenty of work. But having the farm closed keeps it down to a minimum amount of hours and staff time."

"That makes sense," Jackson agreed.

"Why don't we set up some rental time for the next few days. Maybe I can help you catch up a bit on your lessons," Ryan suggested.

"That would be GREAT!" It looked like Christian was about to explode with joy.

"It will be good for me, too. I haven't gotten as much riding over the last few years as I'd like. Between school and the accident..."

"Accident?" Christian's voice was full of concern.

"Will and I were driving back to the farm from Blacksburg when a tractor trailer t-boned my truck in an intersection."

"Obviously you're OK," Jackson said. "But it doesn't sound like it was easy."

"Let's see – he had a concussion, cracked left cheek bone, broken right wrist, broken left knee, and severe bruising across his chest... not to mention the minor stuff," I explained.

"That sounds bad!" Christian said.

"It was, but I'm fully recovered."

"You mentioned someone else in the car with you," Jackson started.

"That was Will," Christian clarified. "And it was a truck – not a car."

"Sorry. I'll listen more carefully," Jackson grinned.

I almost burst into laughter. Christian really was paying attention to every single detail.

"Will's shoulder was dislocated and he broke his right elbow and right wrist. He, too, had a lot of other issues," Ryan detailed. "We both lost a semester of school, and of course I couldn't ride a horse for a long time either."

"All healed up a year and a half later," I interjected.

"That's good," Jackson agreed.

"So, what's the breakfast plan," Ryan asked.

"I'm not much of a cook. No real practice for the last thirteen years," Jackson explained.

"I'm willing to cook," Ryan replied.

"Ryan's a good cook," Christian said.

"You've sampled his food?" Jackson teased.

"OK. I don't know that he's a good cook. But I do know that he likes to cook and cooks a lot!" Christian admitted.

"Why don't we go to IHOP in Evansville," Jackson suggested. "I'm not sure we have anything but cereal and Pop Tarts. Then we can swing by Albertsons and get some groceries to fill in the gaps."

"Deal," I agreed.

"Christian go get dressed. I'll do the same," Jackson said.

Ryan and I finished our coffee and washed the mugs while Jackson and Christian got ready. Breakfast at IHOP was much like dinner the night before, Christian was turned on and asking lots of questions. We slipped by the grocery store and Ryan took control of the shopping cart.

"Do you cook?" he asked Christian.

"Not really."

"I'll teach you. Dad's a decent cook, but once I was old enough, I took over all the cooking."

"Must be hard cooking for one now," Jackson commented to me. "With Ryan gone to college."

"I'm not alone," was my simple response.

Jackson raised an eyebrow in response, but didn't press.

As we walked through the store Ryan asked about food preferences, what was in the house already, and what resources he would have in the kitchen. Jackson wouldn't let Ryan or me pay for the food. He said we were guests and had spent enough flying out to visit.

We got back to the house a bit after ten a.m. and started stocking the kitchen. My cell phone rang while Jackson and Ryan were putting the food into the fridge.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Baby," Tracer said.

"Hey! How's Tennessee?" I asked, as I slipped out of the kitchen.

"Things are good. It's really good to have all the family together."

"I can only imagine," I replied, as I closed the door to the bedroom.

"Most of the time seems to be devoted to talking about the wedding."

"Well, I'm sure Shirley is very excited about the wedding. Is she able to help Tiffany at all?"

"Actually, they and Tiffany's mom are going dress shopping this weekend. We're trying to think of a guy thing to do while they're gone."

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"How are things with you two?"

"Christian is a great kid, and Jackson seems like a really nice guy. Christian has been one steady stream of questions so far. He wants to know EVERYTHING about Ryan. And I do mean everything."

"I would have thought he'd have asked everything on e-mail by now."

"I think he wants the information in-person, and in more detail."

"How's Ryan holding up through all of this?"

"Really well so far. He saw pictures of Kaitlynn last night. One was her during chemo; it actually touched him in a different way than the rest of this experience has. He felt sad."

"I can only imagine. That must have been very hard on him."

"I think it was a real break, a change in how he felt. Also, there was a picture of Ryan and Kaitlynn."

"Huh?" Tracer grunted.

"A picture from Ryan's fourth birthday."

"So she kept some memories," Tracer replied.

"I'm sure more than a few. I'll talk to Jackson and see if there are any more mementoes. But I'll do it when Ryan's not around. What's Will up to?"

"He and Patrick are out running some errands. Those two have always been tight – almost like twins. They're out getting fitted for tuxes."

"Shouldn't you be with them?" I asked.

"Dad and I are going tomorrow."

"What color are the tuxes?"

"Oh, the jackets are black and the slacks a dark grey. Tiffany got Patrick to agree to something called a morning coat. They picked a four button vest and standard tie in a lighter grey."

"What color are the bridesmaids' dresses?"

"They're going to be a soft blue, kinda a hint of grey in it. I'm really impressed with the design. They are actually pretty dresses on their own."

"I'm surprised Tiffany's picked everything but her own dress."

"Oh, she has it narrowed down to three. This weekend she's planning to select the dress."

"Cool."

"I should get going," Tracer said. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I'm glad you called. Love you."

"Love you, too. Talk to you soon."

We hung up and I stood quietly for a minute. Then I headed out to find Ryan, and the guys.

"Everything OK?" Jackson asked, as I walked into the den.

"Oh, yeah. Everything's fine. Just a catching up on things type call. Where are the boys?"

"Christian is showing Ryan around the neighborhood. What little there is of it. Once you cross the highway, it's less than a third of a mile to the Platte River."

"Sounds nice," I commented. I screwed up my gumption a bit. "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"We saw the picture of Ryan and Kaitlynn tucked into Christian's mirror."

"Yeah, I found it when I was cleaning out her things."

"I'm just curious, any other items that I should be aware of?"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, we haven't had a chance to talk before. I'm sure losing your wife was horrible; and for Christian to lose his mother was very painful. But for Ryan it was a complete shock."

"Finding out he has a brother?" Jackson asked.

"Finding out that Kaitlynn had another child. Raised that child until her death. Jackson, she abandoned Ryan before his fifth birthday. She never once contacted him in seventeen years. Now he finds out that she had another son and loved him so much that she never left him. How do you think he'd feel?"

"Damn. I never thought about that. I've been so focused on Christian – the pain, the loss. Finding out about Ryan has been the saving point for him. He's so focused on Ryan because Ryan fills a good portion of the void Kaitlynn's death created. I never thought about the impact on Ryan, except that he was gaining a brother."

"Ryan's been in counseling since he found out. I think it's the only thing that kept him sane and saved his relationship. That's why I asked if there were any other items that might shock him."

"Well, there are pictures of Kaitlynn all over the house."

"We ran into a few of those last night. Actually, that helped him more than I thought it would. She's a person again, not an evil someone who hurt him. I was meaning any other mementos from her time with me and Ryan."

"No. Just that picture, a few letters from her folks, and a copy of your divorce papers. Did you look at the back of that picture? It had Ryan's name on it. Then the letters from her folks scolding her about leaving you and Ryan. That was it. Your address was with the papers – so I had Christian try contacting Ryan through that address."

Before we could continue, we heard Christian yell out "Dad".

"What's up?" Jackson said loudly.

"Just trying to find you," Christian voice called back.

"In the den," he replied.

The boys joined us in the den very quickly.

"Ready for lunch?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. I'm surprised I'm so hungry," Jackson admitted.

"It is noon," Christian said. "And we had breakfast at seven."

"What do you want?" Jackson asked.

"Ryan's gonna teach me to cook!" Christian enthused.

"We're gonna make soup and sandwiches for lunch," Ryan explained. "Later this afternoon, I'll show him how to make one of my favorites - chicken cacciatore."

"Wow, that sounds great!" Jackson replied.

The boys took off for the kitchen.

"My turn to ask a question," Jackson said, once we were alone.

"Shoot."

"You mentioned Ryan's in a relationship. I know Christian has asked him about every detail in his life. Trust me, I heard all the news from each e-mail. Christian said Ryan didn't have a girlfriend."

My mind sank a bit.

"Is Ryan gay?" Jackson asked point blank.

"Yes," I said, deciding to be direct.

"OK."

Now I was just stunned. "Just OK?" I asked.

"I've had my suspicions over the last month or so. Christian has kept me well informed – based on all the e-mails he's received. As I'm sure you've noticed, Christian wants to know everything there is to know about his brother. Using that to fill part of the void formed when Kaitlynn died. In all of the things he's told me, he's mentioned different guys as friends, but never a girl. So, I got a bit suspicious. Then you mentioned the relationship, and it confirmed my suspicions."

"So, where does that leave things?"

"No different from before. Ryan is Christian's half-brother, who happens to be gay. It's not like I don't have gay friends in my life. This may be Cow Hollow, Wyoming, but I work in Casper, and it is the twenty-first century."

"I'm glad to hear it, Jackson. It may be the twenty-first century, but not everyone is cool with gay people, gay couples, gay families."

"How did you deal with it when Ryan came out to you?" he asked.

"A bit stunned," I admitted. "I had no clue. I guess you'd say I was surprised."

"How long did it take you to accept it?"

"About two minutes. I confirmed with him that he was sure, that it wasn't a phase and then that it was fine with me."

"Sounds awfully fast, you weren't concerned, upset?"

"Jackson, I'll level with you. No. But then again, I think I said `like Father, like Son' at the time."

"Huh?"

"I'm gay. I figured myself out when Ryan was twelve. You heard me say earlier that I'm not alone – I've been with Tracer, my partner, for six years now. Ryan met Will about five years ago, though their relationship really didn't start until the following summer."

"Lunch is ready," Ryan announced from the doorway.

Jackson and I followed Ryan into the kitchen without being able to complete our conversation. The boys had pulled together tomato soup and subs.

"This soup is really good," Jackson commented, after his third or fourth spoonful. "I can tell it's not out of a can."

"Well, it is and it isn't," Ryan admitted. "We made it from canned tomatoes and sauce with spices and such."

"Still, very good," Jackson said.

The four of us chatted a bit while eating and then Jackson and I told the boys we would clean up since they had made lunch.

"Can we go over to Jimmy's?" Christian asked.

"Sure," Jackson agreed.

Ryan just gave me a sly smile as they went to get their coats. I was drying a plate when Jackson spoke up. "So, to finish our earlier conversation, no worries about how I feel. I'm fine with you and Ryan being gay."

"What about Christian? Do you want to tell him?"

"I don't think he'll care at all; we raised him better than that. As far as I'm concerned, Ryan should tell him. But I would like to be there when he does."

"I'll talk to Ryan tonight at bedtime about it."

"Sounds good."

"What are your plans for the afternoon?"

"Don't really have any," Jackson admitted. "I guess I should call work and check to make sure the building didn't burn down. Other than that, nothing planned."

"I'm going to grab a book from my suitcase, find a chair, and read then."

I went back to the bedroom, pulled John Adams out of my bag, and went into the living room. There was a comfy wingback chair next to the window and the sun was streaming in. It didn't take long for me to get lost in the book.

That evening after dinner, I told Ryan about how I'd outted him to Jackson and we talked about how Ryan could handle telling Christian.

Saturday the four of us went on a guided trail ride at the Platte Ridge Equestrian Center where Christian was taking lessons. I was thoroughly impressed with their facilities and paid close attention to all the features they offered. Due to their location and size, they had much more to offer than Double Trails could ever match. But I was pleased to see that we did have some features they didn't offer. I think Ryan was a bit annoyed while riding, as he wasn't able to really do anything other than follow the trail.

Saturday evening, Jackson and I did a little research and found a smaller stable north-east of the city that offered rentals. Jackson dropped the three of us off the next morning, and used the free time as an opportunity to go into his office and catch up on a few issues.

We'd been standing at the door to the stables about five minutes after our ride when Jackson pulled up.

"Dad!" Christian exclaimed, as he climbed into the Tahoe. "I can't believe how much Ryan showed me. I'm gonna be the best rider in class next week!"

"Sounds like someone had a good ride," Jackson said to me, as I climbed into the front passenger's seat.

We drove home with Christian telling Jackson every event that happened during the two hour ride.

Early that evening as Jackson and I were cleaning up the dishes, I let him know that Ryan planned to come out to Christian as soon as we were done. Ryan and Jackson hadn't had much time to chat alone, finding time without Christian was nigh on impossible.

"He wants to give Christian a couple days to ask questions, if he has any."

"Christian, have questions?" Jackson said, breaking into a hearty laugh.

I had to chuckle myself at that mental picture.

We'd finished cleaning up and joined Ryan and Christian in the den. Ryan didn't wait many moments before he broached the topic.

"Christian, there's something I need to tell you," Ryan said. Christian looked at him and from his face I could tell that he realized this was serious. "I don't know how else to tell you... I'm gay."

"Huh?"

"Don't grunt," Jackson chastised.

"I'm gay," Ryan repeated. "I'm sorry to have kept it from you so far, but I wanted to tell you at the right point."

"Um," Christian started. "I'm not sure where to start."

"Do what you normally do," Jackson suggested. "Ask questions."

I had to bite my tongue not to laugh... but this was a serious moment.

"So you don't date girls? You like guys? Are you dating somebody? How long have you been gay? Do you have gay friends? What made you gay? Why didn't you tell me before?" Christian asked, without taking a breath.

"Let's see," Ryan replied. "No. Yes. Yes. Five years. Yes. Nothing. And I really wanted you to get to know me for who I am first. Let me clarify that... I don't date girls. I like guys. I've known I was gay for just about five years. And I have gay friends."

"Are you dating Will?" Christian asked.

"Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"He's the only guy your age that you've talked a bit about."

"You have any other questions?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah!" Christian replied.

"Can I ask you one first?" Ryan put in. "Are you OK with it?"

"Yeah. Sure. Why not? You're my brother."

"I'm glad you are."

For the next hour, Christian was Christian – asking lots of questions. The good thing about Ryan's timing was that it gave Christian time to know him without the gay issue; then it gave Christian time to update his knowledge with the fact that Ryan was gay. Monday and Tuesday he continued his exploration of who Ryan was.

It started snowing late Tuesday and I got concerned whether our flight home would be cancelled. We got up early Wednesday morning to find that the snow had stopped and the flight was on schedule. Jackson drove us to the airport and parked. The four of us walked into the terminal and started saying our goodbyes. I could see the tears start from both Christian and Ryan.

"We have a couple surprises for you, Christian," Jackson said.

"What?" Christian asked.

"Erik and I've discussed it, and we're going to visit their farm when you're on spring break."

"That's great!"

"The second part," I added, "is your dad's going to fly you out this summer, and you'll stay on the farm for a month. That is if you want."

"I want! I want!" Christian replied.

"You can make the final decision after you spend spring break with us," Ryan said.

"I'm sure I'll want to!"

"Well, we should get through security and to the gate," I said.

Christian hugged us both and we shook hands with Jackson, saying our goodbyes.

The flights connected smoothly and we landed at TriCities a little after five p.m. I called Tracer's cell phone once we had our bags, and he and Will drove up in front as we came through the doors.

Will climbed into the back seat with Ryan after we got all the bags loaded in the bed. I was glad he did, as it let me snuggle up next to Tracer. We stopped in Abingdon for dinner, and made it home about eight. Tracer helped me unpack my bag – mostly putting my dirty clothes in the hamper.

"I'm so glad you're home!" he said.

"You and me both!"

"I really missed you."

I looked down and noticed that Tracer's boner was tenting his jeans.

"Looks like you did!" I laughed.

"Well! I spent the time at my folks, sharing a room. So I didn't get any relief!"

"And I spent my time in a room with twin beds - with my son in the next bed."

"Sounds like we both need to do something about our problems!"

Tracer grabbed hold of me and pulled me into a deep kiss. Our jean-encased cocks were straining to get out as they ground into each other. I put one hand directly onto his ass and groped him good.

"Let's get naked!" Tracer encouraged.

I stripped off my clothes quickly, and found that Tracer had beaten me to the punch. I pulled him to me for a snog, and this time our hard dicks dueled as we continued to kiss. I let my hand find his cock and started stroking him.

"Oh, fuck!" he groaned.

I dropped to my knees in front of him and engulfed his cock in my mouth. With it buried, I let my tongue work around it – teasing him a bit. That elicited groans from Tracer. I kept teasing his cock while I let my hands rubbed his furry ass cheeks.

I brought a hand back around front and let a finger slide into my mouth with Tracer's dick. Once fully wet, I worked that finger into his asshole. More groans emanated from Tracer's mouth.

"You're pushing all the right buttons tonight," he said.

"I think tonight a blind man could find your buttons!"

"Too true," he laughed in reply.

I slipped a second finger into his hole, trying to open him up good.

"I'm gonna cum if you keep doing that," he warned.

I eased off his dick a bit and kept my attentions on his ass. Instead of a full suck job on his dick, I switched over to licking and sucking his balls. Periodically, I'd let my tongue work up and down his shaft.

I used my free hand to move his cock out of the way and worked my tongue back under his balls. This let me get to that little stretch of skin between his balls and his hole. I pulled my two fingers out of his ass and quickly wet a third with my spit. My three fingers lined up and slid slowly into him while I returned my attentions to his cock.

"You'd better be planning to fuck me!"

"Uh huh," I grunted around his dick.

With three of my fingers deep in his hole, I worked to open him up fully.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he moaned.

"I plan to," I said, after pulling my mouth off his dick. "I'm gonna fuck you till the rooster crows!"

I pushed Tracer around a bit so that he faced the bed. I quickly grabbed the lube from the nightstand and spread a goodly amount on my cock. I pushed him forward a bit so that his hands rested on the end of the bed.

"Time to start your night of fucking!" I told him, as I slid my dick deep in him with one strong push.

"Damn right!"

I grabbed him by the hips and pulled back until my cock popped out. I guided the head up against his hole and then rammed back in. Tracer let out an `umph' in response. I started a pattern of long fuck strokes – pulling either all the way out, or nearly so, and then slamming back in. His ass would clamp down on my shaft as it pulled out – trying to keep it from leaving. Since he was clenching on my out strokes, his ass ring provided strong resistance each time I slammed it in! It had to be one of the hottest, tightest fucks we'd had in a long time.

Tracer braced himself on the bed as I continued to work deeper and harder into his ass. He had leaned on the bed with one arm and worked his other arm under himself to jack off. I pulled his arm away.

"Not yet," I warned him. "I'm gonna fuck the cum out of you."

I moved my hands up his body a bit, and grabbing hold of him at the bottom of his rib cage, I changed the angle of my fuck, finding his prostate with the head of my dick.

"OH!" he groaned repeatedly, as I prodded his love button with each stroke.

I kept pounding his ass – periodically slowing my pace to keep from cumming. This was going to be a record long fuck for us, especially considering neither of us had had sex for a week.

"Damn, Erik. I need to cum!"

"Cum then!"

He tried to reach under himself and I pushed his arm away.

"Erik!" he whined.

I picked up the pace and went back to pounding his prostate! It only took a few minutes till he gave a quick warning.

"I'm gonna cum!"

His ass clamped on my dick as he started shooting cum onto the end of the bed.

"Fuck, yeah!" I roared as my dick shot into his hole.

Tracer's body convulsed as he finished cumming.

I lay my chest on his back to rest for a moment with my cock buried in him. I nibbled on his neck and then licked around his ear.

"That's round one," I whispered. "Let's get up on the bed for round two!"

"Fuck, yeah!" he agreed.

Copyright 2008, 2009, 2010 BndgDawg (BndgDawg@gmail.com). Do not reproduce or distribute this story without the author's permission.

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This is Chapter Fifty-Three of Double Trails. I attempt to respond to all feedback. Contact me at: BndgDawg@gmail.com

Chael and Rock deserve a lot of credit for all the assistance they provide. Their feedback leads to a much more readable story! Thanks as always to both of them.