The usual disclaimers apply. If you are under eighteen or sexual content is illegal where you live, read no further Please donate to nifty. Thanks to Jamies_Jottings, Stories_byFantastic, and Hotcowboys groups for posting my stories, and to Miguel Sanchez, Rock Lane Cooper, and George Grassby for their encouragement.
My stories can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/Fireflywatchers-Stories Please contact me with any suggestions or comments. fireflywatcher@gmail.com I reserve all rights to this original fiction story, it may not be reproduced, distributed, or published without my written consent. Please respect copyright and intellectual property right laws. Phil Ford
JUDGING 7 -- ACER'S STORIES
The Dance
By Phil Ford
"So, you going to ask a cowgirl to dance or what?" the little brunette asked Blue.
"Um, I might step on your pretty little feet. I ain't danced much before," Blue came back, giving her a 'Charlie Brown' smile of mixed fear and excitement.
"I got you covered," she replied, slipping her boots off and tugging him to his feet as she stood there in her socks beside the table. She looped an arm around his neck and hung on planting herself tip toed, standing atop his feet. "I'm ready for a ride. Just don't step on your own feet and I'll be fine," she declared. Blue glided smoothly out into the circling throng, moving to the music blaring from the stage.
A slightly larger gal homed in on Ron, taking no excuses and saying he should look at dancing as therapy, in spite of his protests. Melissa Martinez, a strawberry blond liberally freckled, turned her charms on for Acer and cleared the table. He bent his knees and wrapped one arm around her waist grasping her hand in the fingers of his other hand. Melissa scooted up so close melted butter would have flowed to either side from where their bodies touched.
"Where's David?" Acer asked her.
"My divorce was final two months ago. Why bother with the details?" Melissa came back. "I cut my losses before I ended up with a bunch of his kids and tied to him through them for life, married or not."
"Some things were never meant to be, like life without a you and me," the singer crooned from the stage about a love that didn't work out but never died. "This band has some good tunes," Acer commented. "Even the older ones they sing, they make their own." He could have asked more about the breakup, but knew he'd learn about it from Billy later on. Billy Martinez worked for Acer and Blue. David Martinez was his older brother, Acer's age.
Melissa held on to Acer through three songs. The second was the old Glen Campbell song, 'Windmills of my Mind' which took on a whole new sound. The third was a new Rick Shelton song called, 'Home.' "There must be a line of cowgirls trying to put their boots under your bed, Acer. You dance a little better every time I see you," Melissa commented. "I'll move on to my next victim and let you rest. Thanks for the dance."
"My pleasure," Acer replied. "It's good to see you again, Melissa." The perimeter of the hall was lined three tables deep. The stage was flanked by two doors and two doors led in front into the entryway. Every one of Acer's group was seated again as he took the last chair. "Two hours of drinking cokes to quench the thirst I work up scooting a boot is enough for me, fellows. "I'm ready for a cold beer," Acer declared. "Ya'll sneak out a couple at a time so the whole dance don't end up out at my trailer, OK?"
Tommy, who took care of Acer's horses, and his best bud Bobby were already at the trailer. They'd won with their steer calves again this year, switching up on who got grand champion and who got champion. Acer hadn't helped them pick the calves or judged the event this year. The breeder had picked them the best of the lot since their previous years wins had made him a chunk of extra change selling his breeding stock. David Martinez was leaned against Acer's truck, arms folded across his chest and a longneck hooked in the fingers of one hand.
Acer reached into the ice water filled cooler and drew out two longnecks, passing one to Blue. "Melissa drug me out on the floor and said she'd made you a free man," Acer told David.
David stepped away from the truck, kicking up dirt with his boot. "I bet she told everyone who'd listen why she quit me, too," David squawked.
"No, she wouldn't say," Acer replied.
"She caught me fucking her brother out in my garage," David confessed. "If he was a bitch, he could be her twin and he likes it up the ass. She doesn't."
"In high school you always complained she wouldn't suck dick, either. Did she ever get used to that?" Acer asked. David shook his head 'no' and stared at the ground. "Well, if she did tell everyone in town, it wouldn't be a surprise to any of the guys our age. You've stuck your dick in half of them before. Are you worried your halo will tarnish or something?"
"I was hoping you'd let me come up north until this blows over and until we start stripping cotton this year," David answered. "Billy said you can't pay until December and that's fine with me."
"It's Blue here you'd need to ask about that," Acer explained. "I'm gone judging until the season ends. What do you think, Blue?"
It was Saturday night, the end of the rodeo. "We can use the help," Blue confirmed. "Billy and Alfredo are headed back tomorrow or Monday. I'm staying here with Acer for a couple more weeks."
"The sooner the better," David said. "I couldn't even show my face at the dance with her there tonight. I need to get out of here yesterday."
"You going to take her brother along?" Billy asked, walking up with Alfredo.
"He's been going to Tech and has an apartment in Lubbock. He hauled ass there when we got caught and didn't come home for the summer," David answered. "If I get hard up, it's a short drive from Amarillo. I can go down and plug him until my jizz runs down his legs."
Tommy and Bobby were snickering. "It's bad enough getting caught, David," Bobby taunted. "Getting caught doing her brother is lame. Were you doing your thinking with your little head?"
David ran over and tipped off Bobby's hat. He started in giving him an Indian rub to the head. "Watch your butt, Bobby. If he fucks you with that big pole, it'll come sticking out of your mouth," Tommy kidded, poking his tongue against his cheek.
Bobby broke free. "It didn't come poking out your ass that time you sucked him off last year," Bobby yelled, picking his hat up from the dirt and dusting it off.
"Yours either," Tommy added. "If you bring some beer and your little blue pill, you can party with me and Bobby in Acer's loft, David. We got a cozy spot all fixed up." David agreed and the three of them took off.
"I ain't going anywhere near your barn tonight, Acer," Blue exclaimed.
"Just park the trailer by the barn and me and Alfredo will get the horses in the lot," Billy offered. Then he and Alfredo left, too.
Ron and Chad, two cowboys visiting Acer from Spokane, Washington, were the last to get to the trailer. Ron had been injured in Iraq and was still recovering and moved a little slow. Acer's other friends had either skipped the dance or were still back in the hall having fun. All four got fresh beers and rode together in Acer's crew cab pickup to his house. They departed the truck by the barn as directed and walked on to the house from there. Ron and Chad didn't stay up. They were leaving the next day, too. They were flying to a VA center in San Antonio before going home, if all went well there.
When Billy and Alfredo hadn't come to the house after an hour, Acer decided they were staying down at the barn for the night. He and Blue cuddled up on the couch listening to music. "I wish I could dance like you do," Blue told Acer.
"My mom started teaching me to dance when I was about twelve and could put my arm around her shoulder," Acer explained. "She said that if I wanted to get all the girls, all I had to do was learn to dance. The other boys wouldn't know how. I don't think she counted on me getting any of the boys. All she taught me was the two step, the waltz, the polka, and the cotton eyed joe. The two step was the main thing, though. Once I learned, I taught Cotton. We were always best buds. We practiced whenever we got the chance and sure enough, all the girls liked us best when we went to dances."
"Do you think she minds that you got a guy?" Blue asked.
"She was nice enough to you wasn't she? Acer questioned.
"I felt just like her new favorite daughter-in-law. She was telling me how to fix all your favorite dishes and she gave me that cookbook from her ladies club. I thought she'd give me a frilly apron or one that said 'kiss the cook' next," Blue explained.
"As long as she didn't call you 'honey', she wasn't treating you like a girl. She just likes you," Acer replied.
"Teach me how to dance," Blue requested.
"You were doing pretty good with that little gal," Acer replied.
"With her standing on my feet, sure, and I could carry you on my feet, too. I leg pressed over five hundred weight training for football. I want to do it right," Blue protested.
"Me standing on your feet would have me kissing them all better a lot," Acer answered.
"I'm too ticklish for that. You'd drive me crazy," Blue told him.
They pushed the furniture back to the walls to clear the space and changed to a radio station that played more songs for dancing. Acer got them in the right position. "We've got to take our belts off," Acer declared. "We're too close to the same height and it's metal to metal. We'll need different buckles for dancing."
They got back in position and Acer wrapped his arm around Blue's waist, pulling them tightly together. "Lay your head on my shoulder and close your eyes," Acer instructed. "Now float. Just move with me and float."
After six dances Acer stopped. "See now, you haven't stepped on my foot once. Now you lead. It's like riding a cutting horse. How you stand or lean tells me where you're going. I just float and follow along," Acer told him.
Blue led through the next five songs. "Did your mom teach you to dance like this?" Blue asked.
"No, we barely touched. She wasn't doing the one shot lesson or teaching the 'Dirty Dancing' version of the two step, either," Acer replied. "If I've got the balls to get out on the floor with you, I'm not leaving any doubts. Everybody's going to know we're fucking."
"You were dancing like this with David's ex," Blue responded.
"She was testing me out, seeing if she could get my big boy stiff," Acer answered.
"Well, did she get it stiff?" Blue asked.
"No, but you have," Acer told him. "It's time to practice a different dance now."
"Which one?" Blue inquired.
"The horizontal tango and let's go do it," Acer exclaimed. It was very late by then. They were worked up from the intimate contact while dancing and their lovemaking was brief. Blue practiced leading in this dance, too. They were up again in only a few hours fixing breakfast for their departing friends,
Blue fried bacon in one pan and potato rounds with onion in another. Acer made a big bowl of pico de gallo first by chopping tomato, onion, peppers, and garlic and adding lime juice, salt, a pinch of sugar, and cilantro. He put on a cooker of plain rice. Then he mixed some corn he cut off a cob he had boiling, stirred that with some black beans and canned onion rings which he mixed with equal parts of soft butter and cream cheese and rolled up in tortillas. He melted some 'Velveeta' cheese and mixed in some pico for ranchero sauce to top fried eggs. Last he refried the black beans left over and another can, with onion, pepper, and Colby cheese using a potato masher. They spread it all out on the counter for the guests when they woke up. Coffee, of course, had been the first order of business and the rice was an afterthought in case someone wanted some with butter and sugar. The eggs would be cooked as they came in.
They moved the furniture back in place and Acer took a seat with his cup of coffee. Blue filled a plate and sat beside him. "You're a damn good cook, Acer. Your mom should have given you the cookbook," Blue praised him.
"I have to cook what I like when I'm home. Out on the road I only get restaurant food. It ain't the same," Acer replied. "I know most of those recipes in that book from watching and helping mom cook, anyway."
Before Blue finished, Acer got a plate himself. Chad and Ron came in first, lured by the smells and fresh out of the shower. "If I can speed up my progress in San Antonio, we'll stay there," Rod said. "Chad can check out the colleges and we can get our pickups shipped down here from Spokane. If I'm just going to progress in my recovery at the same rate, we'll fly back home."
"I'll call you and let you know," Chad promised. "If I hadn't met you, everything would be different, Acer. I might have traveled around a lot longer and if I hadn't called at just that time, someone else would have answered the phone."
"Most of what happens to me is pure chance, too, Chad," Acer replied. "I think we need to be reminded we ain't running the show sometimes."
"I don't know if it was chance or the hand of God, but I got smacked down hard. I think I'll get back most of what I lost from the explosion and just be short two toes. It could have been a lot worse," Ron confessed. "Two guys in my squad were killed and one lost a leg."
"Don't let him fool you," Chad insisted. "He's still having trouble walking and you can hear that he's not talking normally yet, not to mention the scar running around his skull under all that hair."
"I did my part for the big world, right or wrong, and I'm going to stay in the little world from here on. I've got Chad and everything from my belt down works fine. His works as good as ever," Ron chuckled. "We'll call after we find out something in San Antonio."
Ron and Chad rose from their chairs at the table with Acer and Blue joining them out of habit. They'd left their shirts draped across the chair backs along with Ron's belt. He turned and began sliding it through the loops. The jeans he wore were stretched tight around his thighs and the waist gapped out several inches. Acer could see the top of Ron's ass crack and the dimples on each side of his spine made a nest that could hold a baseball. He'd been in athletics all his life. The marines had added to his bulk and during his recovery at home, his only therapy was using the weights and treadmill left from athletics.
Ron may not have fully regained control of his body, but the word that came to mind when Acer looked him over was, invincible. Chad, on the other hand, was still defined but most of his bulk had melted away giving him a more casual athletic appearance. They both pulled on western shirts with the sleeves cut out at the shoulder and left the tails hanging out. One trip to the rented SUV with Acer and Blue's help got their luggage loaded. After a round of hugs and slaps on the back, they drove off.
Tommy and Bobby were the first out of the barn when the SUV started. David, Billy and Alfredo were right behind. They reached the drive waving their arms, just in time to exchange goodbyes. Blue hollered, "Breakfast," and they all scampered behind him and Acer into the house.
David hooked the trailer to his truck when everyone was done eating. Billy's truck was to small to pull it. Acer had planned to swap trucks with Billy until he got back to Amarillo until David asked to go along. "Leave the bay and the buckskin the boys were using for roping," Acer told Billy.
"I thought we were taking all of them north," Billy countered.
"Tommy, Bobby," Acer called in reply to Billy. "I'm giving you the two horses as graduation presents. Can you board them at Tarleton?"
Both boys beamed with pride and thanked Acer, even offering to pay for the horses saying they were too valuable for a gift. When Acer wouldn't back down, Tommy replied, "We don't need to board them Acer. We went up after graduation to look at the dorms and apartment so we could be ready for fall. No matter how you do the math, it was a lot of money. Bobby saw an ad for a house on ten acres and we went to look at it."
"It was just an old farm house with a small barn out back," Bobby spoke up. "The asking price was twenty-two thousand and it was on a county road about ten miles north toward Caddo Mills. We got it for twenty even paying cash figuring we could sell it and recoup the money after we finish school. The dorm would have cost us thirty and an apartment would be higher than that."
"We hired a man and got it fixed up a little," Tommy added. "It's ready to move in now. We've even hauled up some furniture and bought a few things there in town."
"The old lady who owned it said it needed a new well," Bobby told Acer. "Cotton drove up there and flushed it out good. He said mud had settled in the bottom and once it was pumped out good, it ran clear and had a good flow."
"You guys are full of surprises," Acer told them. David was loaded and Alfredo rode with him, leaving Billy to drive alone and they left for Amarillo.
"Are ya'll going to try out for the rodeo team?" Blue asked.
"We didn't even place this week at the rodeo here," Bobby confessed. "We've got room to practice there, so maybe we'll improve. If we don't make the team, we can work the chute crew, I guess."
When the boys left, too, the first thing Blue did was push the furniture back against the walls and turn on the radio again. "Come on buddy," he said to Acer, pulling him to his feet. "I may need more practice but it's a good excuse to hold you in my arms any time. I kind of like that."
Acer let out a throaty growl. "You got me for a dancing partner whenever you're in the mood." He planted a kiss below Blue's ear to emphasize the point. Ten songs later, Acer led Blue to the couch saying he needed a break or they'd being doing a horizontal dance like the night before. "It's about noon. What are you hungry for?" Acer asked.
"I'll fix it. You did breakfast, or most of it anyway. They guys didn't leave a bite of it," Blue announced. He stepped out on the porch and turned the gas grill on as high as it would go. Then he poked holes in two potatoes and set the microwave to humming. Last, he shook out salad mix from a bag and cut some tomato chunks into bowls with it. The steaks were wrapped in white butcher paper. With the addition of garlic and pepper to each, they were ready to go when the grill got to temperature. The salads, butter, sour cream, and steak sauce went on the table. Blue shoved a beer into Acer's hand, saying, "It's past noon so drink up."
When they'd inhaled the meal, Acer asked, "Do you want to dance some more now?"
"Let's play a little right now," Blue replied. "I want to feel your body laying next to me some. Then I'll let you take me for a drive. Living in that flat country all my life, I want to see some hills and trees and water for a change. We can dance more later."
(to be continued)