Tales from the Ranch

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.

TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyright8 2002 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land they live on and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.

This is a work of fiction and in no ways draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrighted 1 by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.

There is not much in the way of sex in the first three chapters. I felt it necessary to introduce the main characters and allow you to get acquainted with them before getting them involved in erotic activities.

PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.

Tales from the Ranch Chapter 2: A New School Year

Jason and Kevin continued to share one bed in their new room, sometimes sleeping in Jason's bed and sometimes in Kevin's. Marty and Christine weren't really happy about this, but decided not to make an issue of it, figuring that they would grow out of it soon.

The boys continued to grow and each developed new friends at school, which they were always bringing them home after school to play. Since they rode the school bus, Marty or Chris usually had to provide "taxi service" to get the other kids home. Once in a while another parent would come to pick their boys up and take the others home, too.

The only rule was that kids couldn't stay for dinner or to sleep over unless it was Friday night. The boys never questioned this rule. That was understood.

When Jason was 11, he was in the fifth grade and started "middle school" that fall. However, the lower school and the middle school were on adjoining blocks and shared some of their playground space as well as a cafeteria building. Children from the two schools were expected to eat in separate rooms. There were no school rules about this fact, just tradition.

On the first day of school the boys discovered they had almost the same lunch period. The times were a little different so kids could get through the serving line without a jam. Kevin got his tray and he and two of his friends, Terry and Jack decided they were going to eat lunch with the big kids, Jason in particular. Jason was sitting at a table with Larry and Jerry Riley, who were twin brothers. They weren't friends; the twins had sat down without asking Jason. His back was to the room and he didn't see the other three younger boys approach the table.

As they started to sit down, both Larry and Jerry loudly said, "You can't sit with us, you aren't even supposed to be in this room."

Kevin announced, just as loudly, "We're gonna sit with Jason and you can't stop us." Terry and Jack looked like they would like to disappear, but were stuck with supporting their friend.

Jason suddenly stood up, grabbed Kevin, giving him a big hug. "Hi, Kev, you guys sit down and eat so I can hear all about your morning." Then he turned to Larry and Jerry and simply said, "They stay."

With much complaining about the fact they shouldn't have to "eat with the babies anymore" since they were in middle school, they quickly finished their lunch and told Jason to meet them on the playground in five minutes. Larry said, "Be there!"

Jason said, "I need to talk to my brother and his buds, so I may not be out there." He then turned to Kevin and his friends and said, "Don't pay any attention to them, I can talk to them between classes.

He looked around the room and saw that nobody was paying any attention to their table; however, Kev, Terry and Jack were the only lower schoolboys in the cafeteria. Kevin said, "Thanks for letting us stay. Is there really a stupid rule about where we have to eat and who we can sit with?"

Jason said, "I don't think so, but don't you want to sit with all of your friends instead of just Terry, Jack and me?"

Kev replied, "You are my brother and best friend and Terry and Jack are my best buddies. We'd rather talk to you."

So the four sat and finished lunch. Since Jason's lunch hour was over 10 minutes before the other boys, he stood up to take his tray out and told the others, "I'll see you guys on the bus after school."

The school system was structured so there were three schools, lower school that had Kindergarten through the 4th grade; middle school was 5th through 8th grades and then a four- year high school.

In lower school each grade was divided into two classrooms of about 30 kids each and everyone stayed in that classroom all day except for recess and lunch periods. The middle school was structured more like high school where all of the kids had a 45- minute "home room" every morning at 8:30, and then different schedules for the remaining 5 periods of 50 minutes the rest of the day. There was a 30-minute recess in the morning and afternoon and a 45-minute lunch period. School was scheduled to be out at 3:40 each afternoon.

Some classes were shared between 5th and 6th grade and between 7th and 8th grades, but it was unusual for students to advance beyond their age level and have classes with older children.

The first semester Jason had homeroom where attendance was taken, then the lessons varied from day to day to pickup classes they should have. Then math, English, history, science and physical education was the rest of Jason's daily schedule.

When he arrived for his third period history class he went to Mr. Bryant's classroom and sat down on the front row. Jason's parents had always told he and Kevin that they should sit on the front row because they would learn more and there would be less temptation to mess around and not pay any attention. It was probably because of this that they received high marks in every class and were always on the honor roll. Bad grades were not tolerated and help with homework was there if it was needed.

Larry and Jerry came in a minute later and sat in the back of the room. Both whispered, "Faggot Baby-sitter!" as they passed Jason's seat. This did not make Jason happy and he couldn't understand why anyone couldn't know that he and Kevin were brothers and were tight with each other.

Tom Bryant was one of the better teachers in middle school and loved history. This class was Texas history, geared to 5th and 6th grade level. He knew that Jason Williamson's family had their roots deep in Texas going back to when Texas was an independent republic instead of the largest state in the United States. He also was aware of the fact that Williamsport was named for the family, who still owned a number of buildings and rental property in the city.

Class passed quickly with Mr. Bryant talking about the early Texas history going back to when the area was owned by Spain and then passed to France, then Mexico to 1836, becoming the Republic of Texas at that time, then a part of the United States for a short time before the Confederate flag flew over the country. After the Civil War, Texas returned to the United States. It was a lively discussion and everyone had lots of questions, which Mr. Bryant was more than happy to answer for them.

The last period of the day was Phys Ed and this was the first time that Jason had been exposed to this type of class. He and Kev were in good shape, being active boys, riding horses and doing their farm chores.

Eddie Thompson was the Phys Ed director for the middle school and also coached the track team, basketball and junior football for the older middle school boys and soccer and baseball for all four middle school grades. He loved teaching in Williamsport because all of the boys were what he considered "rural kids" who were in good physical shape and able to take part in about any physical activity he assigned. Before coming to Williamsport, he had taught in the inner city schools in Houston and generally found the kids to be weak and unable to do any strenuous exercises.

The class of 32 fifth and sixth grade boys gathered in the locker room that first class and Mr. Thompson went over the expected routines the boys were expected to follow. First of all he explained that starting the next day, they would be expected to suit up for class and that each boy was to be assigned an empty wire basket on the shelves, strip out of their street clothes and put on their gym clothes. Each of the boys were to keep their uniforms in their own basket which was to be placed on the shelf in its proper place and secured with a combination lock. This was to prevent anyone from being able to access either his gym clothes or street clothes.

After class, the boys were expected to take a shower and put their street clothes back on. Clean towels were kept just inside the shower room in a towel locker. The shower room had 20 showerheads and the boys were expected to share with each other.

He explained that each boy was to have the following uniform gear: Green T-shirt, and green gym shorts, jock strap, athletic cup, white socks and sport shoes. In addition, they should have a green nylon windbreaker and long nylon pants for when they were outdoors on colder days.

All the boys had their gear with them, so the remainder of the period was assignment of wire baskets and giving out the combinations to the locks. The coach had a list and could unlock a basket for any boy who forgot his lock combination. However, Mr. Thompson warned them about making it a habit to bother him all the time.

By the time everyone had put his gear away, it was almost time for the period to be over. Mr. Thompson told the boys that beginning tomorrow, they would have 10 minutes to suit up in their jocks, shorts, t-shirts, socks and sport shoes and prepare to be tested as to their ability to do push-up, sit-ups and rope climbing. There was a general groan at this news. He explained that he needed to establish each boy's minimum standard so they could be graded for improvement during the year.

He showed the boys the bulletin board at the door and each day the proper clothes the boys were to wear would be listed. And... He stressed that the boys were to take their gym clothes home every Friday to be washed -- no exceptions!! The bell rang and Ed Thompson announced, "All right, boys, see you tomorrow."

On the bus, Jason quickly found a seat toward the middle and saved the window seat for Kevin, who came bounding in just as he got settled. About that time the Riley brothers, Larry and Jerry got on the bus and made two smaller boys move so they could sit in front of Jason and Kevin. They both turned around and Larry said, "Well, if it isn't the little faggot babysitter and his baby brother."

Jerry taunted, "Does the baby have to suck his faggot brother's cock like a bottle every night before he'll go to sleep?"

Jason tried to ignore the boys, but Larry grabbed his shirt and said, "Hey, fag... I'm talking to you."

About that time Mr. Harris, the bus driver came walking down the aisle, counting people and announced that everyone was on the bus and they were ready to leave, telling them to sit down and be quiet.

He looked at Larry and said; "I suggest you keep your voice down and your hands to yourself, because if I have to come back here again, you are going to sit on the front row where I can watch you." This brought peals of laughter from the other kids, as Larry and Jerry really weren't very well liked. Most of the kids thought they were too obnoxious and not well behaved. They were older than the other kids in their class because they had to repeat the 3rd grade.

Kevin reached over, taking Jason's left hand in his and held them between them, out of sight of the other kids.

The Riley brothers got off at the second stop the bus made. As they got out of their seats, Jerry leaned in to whisper to Jason and Kevin. "Bye faggots... go fuck each other!!!" Both Larry and Jerry thought that was funny and were still laughing when the bus pulled away. Larry gave Jerry a high-5 and said, "That's a good one."

After the bus started up, John Clark leaned across the aisle to Jason, saying, "Someday those boys are going to find out that they aren't funny. They've been bullies ever since kindergarten and nobody ever doesn't anything about it.

Jason told him, "The worst part is that they have two older brothers, one in the seventh grade and the other in high school who are just like them and get by with it, too."

One of the other boys, Tim, said, "If I were you guys, I'd avoid a fight with them because the older boys will step in and take their side. They don't care that they are older than us; if they hurt us it doesn't bother them a bit. Larry and Jerry will never start a fight because they know Donald and Pete will do it for them."

Kevin said, "I know Pete. He's in high school and he's mean."

About this time, the bus stopped again and seven kids got off, a couple of which got in cars driven by their parents to take them the rest of the way home. The next stop was where Jason and Kevin got off. They were lucky in that their house was less than a half-mile up an asphalt driveway. The only time their parents got them was if the weather was bad and then they generally drove the 6 miles to Williamsport and picked them up at school.

As the bus stopped, John said, "You guys have a nice evening and I'll see you on the bus in the morning."

Jason said, "Thanks guys. We're gonna avoid the Riley boys -- if we can."

Kevin replied simply, "Bye."

As they got to the door, Mr. Harris said, "Just don't pay any attention to the Riley boys. They can't stand to be ignored - all of 'um always have to be center of attention and all they are is bullies. I won't allow any of their smart-mouthed remarks on my bus."

"Thanks," replied both Jason and Kevin.

The bus pulled away and the boys started up their driveway. They were both quiet for a little bit and finally Kevin spoke up. "Jase, what's a faggot?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's a guy who likes another guy."

"Like us?" Kevin asked.

"Well... no..."

"But we like each other, don't you like me?"

"It's not the same thing," Jason said.

"What did he mean by 'go fuck each other'?"

"I don't know. I've heard guys yell 'Fuck you' before, but I really don't know what it means. They are usually joking."

"But... Jerry wasn't joking... was he?"

Jason replied, "No, but I still don't know what he meant."

Kevin asked, "Jason, do you think the Riley boys will hurt us?"

"No, I really don't think we have anything to be afraid of."

By this time they had reached the end of the driveway and noticed that both their parents cars were gone. As they went in the kitchen, Mrs. Wood told them to help themselves to chocolate chip cookies that had just come out of the oven and a glass of milk or juice if they would rather have that.

Kevin said, "I'll have a glass of cold milk. Our milk is nothing like that watery blue-looking stuff they serve in the cafeteria."

Jason agreed and said, "Yeah, but they sell it in the grocery stores, too."

Mrs. Wood agreed. "I think the milk Star gives us is better for us, too." [Star being the name of the boys Jersey milk cow.]

As the boys were having their snack, Mrs. Wood asked if they had any homework. The answer was negative since it was only the first day of school and had really been an orientation session in all classes.

They put their dirty glasses in the sink and threw their napkins in the trash under the counter.

"Come on, Jase, let's get our clothes changed and do our chores. I'll feed the animals and gather the eggs if you'll milk Star and feed her."

"Sounds like a deal to me," replied Jason as they ran up to their room.

As they were changing clothes Kev asked Jason about his classes and Jason gave him a brief run-down of each, ending with the gym class and what they were expected to do the next day. He told him about push-ups, sit-ups and rope climbing. Both knew what sit-up and push-ups were, but had never seen anyone climb a rope before and wondered what the purpose could be for that.

"Maybe I should practice push-ups and sit-ups before we go to bed tonight, Jason said."

"Ok, I'll help. Hey, there's some gym equipment in the loft of the barn. I know Dale works out with it, maybe he can help us."

"Hey, great idea." Jason thought to himself that Dale was just about the best looking guy he had ever seen, next to his Dad, of course. "Sure, I'll bet he'd be glad to tell us what we need to do."

Dale was the foreman of the field crew and generally was responsible for the crops as well as maintenance of the farm equipment and helped with repairs around the house and farm buildings.

About this time the two had stripped out of their school clothes, put on Levis, t-shirts and cowboy boots, then headed down the stairs and outside. Sandy wagged her tail and was ready to go outside, too.

As Kevin headed to the building where the poultry stayed, he got grain and feed pellets out to feed the chickens, ducks and geese. While they made a mad dash to eat, he went inside to gather the eggs. They had about 30 chickens so there were usually about 2 dozen big brown eggs most of the time. Mrs. Wood used a lot of eggs and milk and cream when she cooked.

The ducks and geese nested various places around the grounds. The family didn't eat their eggs, so didn't gather them, but the ducks and geese always seemed to have new little ones all the time, so he guessed that they hatched most of what they produced.

Jason went into the area of the barn where he milked Star. As he walked through the shop area, Dale was working on cleaning the repairing the hay baler. Since it was a warm day, he was wearing only Levis and western boots. Dale was about 24 years old and had worked for the "Bar-W Ranch" for 5 years. He was close to 6' tall, probably weighed about 185 and had a very hairy chest. When Jason saw him, he felt a little tingle in his groin. That was the first time he'd ever had that feeling. What was it?

"Hey, Dale, what's going on? Getting ready to bale some more hay?"

"Hi, Jase. Yeah, need some repairs on the baler. We must be about the only farm around that still uses square bales instead of the big round ones. Your family likes to store hay bales inside a barn instead of in the field. I agree, there's less spoilage, but a lot more work to bring in the crop and store it."

"Dad thinks it's dangerous to try to move the big round bales. Some guy over in Carroll County was moving one and had the forks on the tractor up too high. Something snapped and the bale fell back on the tractor, pinned him and left him paralyzed. He doesn't want something like that happening here."

"Your Dad's a smart guy. Always watching out for those of us who work here and helping us, if necessary. He's not afraid of hard work. A lot of guys in his position won't go near a hayfield. I've seen him helping us several times and he can outwork most of us."

"Dale, don't you have weights and stuff in the loft?"

"Yeah, why... do you wanna work out with me?" he smiled.

"No, not really." Jason then told him about the strength test they were to have in gym class the next day. He told Dale, "I think I know how to do sit-ups and push-ups, but why do we have to be able to climb a rope?"

"Well, in the first place it comes in very handy on a ranch. There are times we have to go over a cliff into a ravine to rescue livestock that has wandered to the wrong place or maybe fallen in a pit and can't get out. If we can't use a rope that's been anchored so we can climb up and down, we'll probably lose the animal."

"Can you show me how it's done?" asked Jason.

"Sure, sport, be glad to."

"Okay, let me feed and milk Star. By that time Kevin should be through with his chores and you can show both of us. Deal?"

"You got it, partner."

Jason got several scoops of corn and cattle feed and put it in Star's trough. She was ready to eat and went into her milking stall with no encouragement. Jason snapped the stanchion shut so she couldn't back out and, getting a clean pail, went to work. Star gave about six quarts of milk and Jason took it to the cooler and poured it in a new can. He would have to remember to see if Mrs. Wood needed more milk when he went back to the house. It always fascinated him as to the amount of cream that rose to the top of the milk can as it cooled. It sure made for good fresh cream and sweet butter that Mrs. Wood turned out.

As he went back to let Star out of her stall, Kevin came in with 22 eggs and put them in the cooler, too. Between their family and his grandparents, they never had dairy products or eggs go to waste. The boy's grandfather generally took care of milking Star of a morning and if he was gone on a trip, Dale or one of the other three guys filled in.

"Hey, Kev, Dale's gonna show us about sit-ups and rope climbing. Are you through with your chores?"

"Sure am. Let me wash my hands and I'll be right in."

Both boys went into the little bathroom in the barn/shop. There was a washbasin, toilet and shower where you could clean up, if necessary.

As they were coming out of the bathroom, Dale went in, telling the guys that he needed to take a leak before any physical exercise. "Go on into the shop, I put a thick pad on the floor for us to use."

Dale came back and told the guys, "I'll demonstrate how to do sit-ups and push-ups, then we'll do the rope bit. Ok?"

Jason and Kevin agreed.

Dale told the boys, "It's a lot more comfortable if you have on workout clothes when you do this, but I'm just going to demonstrate, not do a full workout. I'm going to do sit-ups first. Then I'll have each of you do a few. Lay flat on your back and bring your legs up to about a 45-degree angle with your feet flat on the floor, like this."

He lay on his back and brought his legs up. "Or at least as flat as you can get your feet when wearing cowboy boots," he remarked. "Now there are two ways you can do this. You can either put your arms across your chest, like this; or you can put your hands behind your head and clasp your fingers together. Like this. Now, Jason, I want you to kneel in front of my feet and hold them on the floor. This gives the maximum crunch to your abdominal muscles as your feet stay on the floor. Otherwise, your feet come up and you don't get the pull."

Dale did about five sit-ups using each of the positions. "I like to do it better with my hands behind my head because I think it strengthens my upper back and tightens my abs.

"Kevin spoke up. "What are abs and abdominal muscles?"

Dale said, "They are the same thing. It's the muscles just below and above the belly button. I have what's called a 'six- pack' although you can only see four because the other two are covered up by my Levis. Here, you can feel them."

With that he moved his hands over the muscles and told the boys to do the same.

Kevin felt him and said, "Cool, they feel tight and not soft."

Dale replied, "That's the result of a lot of hard work, most of which is gotten from everyday farm work, not the workout bench.

Jason couldn't wait to get his hands on Dale's body. He laid one hand just above his belly button. The skin felt hot and tight and the hair felt like silk strands. A big tingle started in his groin and he felt his cock twitch. Wow! That felt great. He put the other hand on Dale's abs and lightly rubbed up and down. His cock twitched again - twice - and he felt it start to get hard. What was happening?

At the same time, Dale felt a warm feeling in his groin and his cock started to grow. Was he having sexual feelings for an 11-year old?

A little embarrassed, he sat up and said, "See what a lot of hard work will do for you?"

Jason spoke up and asked, "How long will it take me to get a 'six-pack' like yours?"

Dale said, "It depends on how much work you put in on working out. I'd recommend that you not overdo it because you're still growing. But keep your body tight by doing a little. I'm sure your gym teacher and help you better than I can because he's learned that in school. I don't want to tell you to do something and have it cause damage by accident."

"Are you guys ready to try this?"

"Sure," they both said, almost in unison.

"Ok, Jason, you go first. Lay flat on your back. That's it, now bring your legs up to where your feet are flat on the floor." Kevin, you kneel in front of him and hold his feet down. Okay, Jason, either put your arms across your chest or hands clasped together behind your head."

"Can I try it both ways?"

"Sure."

Jason put his hands behind his head like Dale had done.

"Ok, now try to sit up."

Jason did and found out that it was not as easy as it looked. However, he managed to get five before Dale told him to stop. "That's enough for now. Put your arms across your chest and try that."

Jason did as instructed and found that it was a little easier, but he could quickly tell that it was going to make his stomach muscles sore. He was also sweating and removed his t- shirt. Kevin did the same.

"Ok, Kevin, your turn. Jason, you hold his feet down.

Kevin lay on the floor, got into position and Jason held his feet. Kevin put his hands behind his head and sat up. "Hey, that's easy."

Dale told him, "Do four more, then put your arms across your chest."

Kevin did, but both Dale and Jason could tell that the ten was about all Kevin was going to be able to do.

Jason asked Dale, "How many sit-ups should we do each time?"

Dale told him, "Ask your coach. He'll probably tell you to start slow and build up. Don't overdo to begin with because you will make your muscles sore and then you won't be able to do any for a few days. If you feel too sore, drop back; you'll build up soon enough.

Jason asked him, "How many do you do a day, or when you workout?"

Dale said, "Usually about 75, sometimes a hundred. It depends on how much exercise I've already gotten during the day.

Both boys were stunned. They thought the five was a lot of work.

"Now, do you want to see about push-ups?"

"Yeah," Jason answered with Kevin echoing.

"Okay, here's what I do. Lay flat on the floor on your stomach. Put your hands flat on the floor beside your chest, lower arms almost vertical. Push your chest away from the floor, keeping your back as straight as possible. Then lower yourself back down until just your nose is touching the floor. Establish an up-down rhythm, like this."

Dale started to move up and his feet started to slip. "Since I'm wearing boots with leather soles, Jason needs to help keep my feet from slipping."

Jason moved behind him and Dale did 5 push-ups.

"Okay, now it's your turn, Jason. Kevin, you may have to help hold his feet." Jason got into position and Kevin helped anchor his feet. Dale showed Jason how to line up his hand and arms and showed both of the about how to gauge the distance between their chests and hands. "Okay, Jason, whenever you are ready."

Jason pushed up and Dale showed him about not moving up too far and keeping his back straight. "Okay, now lower yourself to where only your nose touches the floor." Jason did and Dale told him to do four more.

Jason found that the push-ups were actually easier to do than the sit-ups and Dale agreed. Of course the question was, "How many push-ups do you do?" and Dale answered, "At least 100 and sometimes as many as 150, depending on how hard of a workout I'm trying to accomplish."

"Now, Kevin, your turn."

Kevin got into position and Dale adjusted his form, and then told him to go ahead. He easily did 5 push-ups when Dale stopped him. "No need to overdo on your first time. If you guys try this again tonight, don't do more than five of either sit-ups or push-ups without resting for a few minutes. Your coach may not agree with what I've shown you, but it seems to work for me."

"Now," Dale said laughing, "are you ready for the rope trick?"

"Sure, they echoed each other."

"Okay, I've got to run up to the loft and drop a rope down. Be right back," Dale said. He ran up the stairs and in a couple of minutes dropped a thick rope down to the floor. As he was coming back down the stairs, he told the boys, "I anchored it to the vertical post that goes to the roof. Should be as solid as can be."

"Now the first thing you have to do is wear leather gloves. I've climbed rope at school before and they either have gloves or let you use rosin powder. I like gloves better because if your hands sweat, it doesn't make any difference. Rosin doesn't work well with sweaty palms."

There were plenty of gloves in the shop and each found a pair that would fit their hands.

Dale moved to the rope and told them, "When you do this at school you will be wearing sport shoes and they actually help you grip the rope better with your feet. Boots are okay, but they will slip on the rope because they are hard leather."

Kevin spoke up. "Why are we going to wear gloves, then?"

Dale replied, "Because gloves are made of soft leather and have better grip. Your boot soles are hard leather."

"This is easier demonstrated than I can tell you, but basically you are reaching above your head to grip the rope and pull yourself up. You wrap your legs and feet around the rope to keep yourself from sliding back down until you are ready."

With that, he reached above his head, grabbed the rope and pulled himself up about 2 feet above the floor. It appeared that he was gripping the rope with his feet, the rope between the arch on one foot and the ball of the foot on the other and Dale confirmed what he was doing as they were getting ready to asked the question. He pulled himself up another foot and a half or so, then readjusted his feet. In a few pulls he was at the point where the rope came through from above.

"Now to come back down, just allow the weight of your body to lower you. You can control the speed by how tightly you grip the rope with your hands and feet." Dale started to lower himself, dropping in short distances, then about the last six feet with more speed.

Dale stepped away from the rope and told Jason to give it a try. Jason moved up to the rope. Dale told him to put his feet on either side of the rope, and then reach almost as high as he could with one hand then put the other right below it.

Jason started to pull himself up when Dale said, "Wait a minute," and moved behind him to adjust his hands. The thick hair on Dale's chest tickled Jason's back. Again, he felt a tingle in his groin and another rush in his cock, which started to get hard immediately. 'What's going on here?' Jason wondered. As Dale worked with the placement of Jason's hands, he rubbed across his back again. By the time Dale was through Jason was almost completely hard. This had never happened before. His cock was bunched up in his briefs and was very uncomfortable.

Satisfied that he was ready to climb, Dale stepped back and told Jason to "go to it."

Jason must have had a rush of adrenalin hit about that time, because he easily pulled himself up about a foot, then another, and again until he was at the top. He took a big gulp of air and Dale told him to come back down when ready. He did as instructed and made several short drops, a long drop and two more short ones before standing on the floor once again.

Jason was really sweating, but he couldn't tell if it was from the effort of climbing the rope, the fact that his cock was hard, or remembering how Dale's hairy chest felt scratching his back. He'd like to feel that again.

Dale was really pleased with his student and gave him a hug, actually a squeeze but since he was standing slightly behind Jason, he got to feel Dale's hairy chest again. This caused another twitch or two in his cock.

"Okay, Kevin, your turn."

While they were moving around, Jason quickly turned around, reached inside his Levi's and adjusted his cock.

Kevin got in position and Dale helped him locate his hands. He had to give Kevin a small boost to get him going, but from there on, Kevin caught on quickly. He only went up about six feet, and then came back down.

When his feet were back on the floor, he announced, "That's easier than I thought it might be."

Dale replied, "I think you can now see why the ability to use a rope for many things is something you need to know if you are going to live on a ranch. A good horse, a rope and lots of common sense will get you out of a lot of jams you might find yourself in."

Jason found his t-shirt, picked it up, but didn't put it on. He turned around to adjust his cock again.

"Hey, Dale, thanks for showing us this stuff about gym this afternoon," Jason said, with Kevin echoing.

"Glad to help out guys. I needed a break from working on the baler and am glad I could help you."

Kevin was pulling on his t-shirt and said, "I need to call Jack about our Cub Scout meeting tomorrow. We're supposed to work on our Wolf badge after school and I need to know what to take to his house. Bye, Dale. See you in a few, Jase."

Jason, being curious about everything a boy should know had what he thought was a brilliant idea. He couldn't very well ask his father about being taunted at school and on the bus, but maybe Dale would answer his questions.

Dale... un.. do you... are you my... friend?"

"Well, sure little buddy. What's on your mind?"

"Unmm... well... a... cou... couple of... guys at... school were either teasing me or making fun of me and I... don't... understand what it's... about.

Dale, sensing that this might be a question about things boys tease each other about, realized that Jason needed help and he had to be careful, but at the same time honestly answer whatever questions Jason might have. "Sure, I'll see if I can answer your question. What's this all about?"

"Well, Kevin and his friends, Jack and Terry, sat with me in the cafeteria today at lunch. They were the only kids from lower school in that part of the cafeteria where we older kids eat. The Riley brothers, Larry and Jerry were sitting at my table and didn't like it because some little kids were there. I stuck up for Kev, Jack and Ter and they didn't like it. Later, when I went to history class, they both called me a "Faggot Baby-sitter" when they went past my desk.

Dale stood there, thinking. Pete Riley was 19 years old and a junior in High School. When he had been in high school, the older Riley brothers were the town terrors and seemed to get by with anything they want to do, because everyone was afraid of their Dad and Mom who were drunks and let the four boys raise themselves.

"Dale, I need to ask you, "What's a faggot?"

A bell went off in Dale's head. He hated the term "faggot" but how to explain this? He was gay, had known it ever since he was about 13 and it had never been a problem because he had never told anyone. He played football and every kid in school looked up to him.

"Jason, I'll explain this the best way I can, but it's a tough question to answer. To begin with, it's a derogatory term, as I'm sure you've figured out. It's a very nasty way to refer to homosexual men; those are men who like other men. Some people call them queers, but I think the proper term is 'gay' and that doesn't mean happy. I'm sorry that you were exposed to this at 11 years old, but guess I'm surprised that you haven't heard it before."

"I have, Dale, but nobody ever called me that before. I've heard other kids called that, but never knew what it meant. Does that mean they think I'm queer?" Tears started to form.

Dale took Jason in his arms, hugged him to himself and said, "No, no, I don't think they really mean anything by it. It's just that these guys don't get along very well with anyone and a chance to put somebody down is the way they operate, to cover up for their insecurities."

Again, the feel of Dale's hairy chest. A tickle in his groin and a couple of twitches in his cock, which started to get hard again. This time, it wasn't tangled up in his jockey shorts, so didn't cause any pain. Should he be embarrassed? What was this all about? Dale felt good and smelled of masculine scent. Sweat mixed with something he couldn't place.

"Dale, the other remark they made was something like, 'Do you let your baby brother suck your faggot cock like a baby bottle before he'll go to sleep?'" They're kidding, right?"

Dale's thoughts turned to blinking lights. He wanted to say, 'Jason, if you only knew,' but couldn't say that. Oh boy, that's a tough one.

He took a deep breath before answering. "Jason that's another derogatory remark. Yes, it's true that some men do that with other men they love, but I don't think he means anything other than just being mean to you."

More tears.

"But Dale, I love Kevin. I protect him. I don't know what I'd do without him. He belongs to me." More tears. "What if they find out I love my brother?"

Dale almost went into sensory overload at that question. "Jason, you should love your brother. That's what brothers are supposed to - is love each other. Many don't, but I know that you really care a lot about Kevin. I realized that from when I first started working here."

"Dale, can I tell you something? Kevin and I sleep together in the same bed. Sometimes it's his bed and sometimes it's mine, but we curl up in each other's arms and sleep that way every night. I don't think I could sleep by myself - and I know he wouldn't. Dad and Mom tried to stop it a long time ago, but finally gave up."

"Jason, that doesn't mean that you are a homosexual, or whatever name you want to call it. You aren't old enough to know what you want and may not for a few more years."

Dale thought to himself. 'Yeah, I was 13 when I figured it out and I'll bet that Jason is closer to that fact of life now at eleven than I was at thirteen.'

"Dale, I have to tell you something else and... Please don't get mad at me, but I don't know who else to talk to."

Dale hesitated. "Okay, what?"

"I think I may already be that way... homosexual or gay or queer... I don't know what to call it. I like to look at older men. This afternoon when you were helping Kevin and I with the gym exercises... I got a strange feeling in my middle when I rubbed the hair on your stomach. Then when you stood behind me and the hair on your chest tickled my back... the same thing happened again, except my cock got hard, too."

"Jason, I think this is just a matter of you growing up. You are about to start... if you haven't already... puberty... when you start becoming a man. You are starting to become aware of feelings you haven't experienced before. One is how other men look, how women look. You begin to notice things like men with muscles, hairy chests, how they smell; women's shapes, how soft they are, how they smell. Since you are going to be in gym class and taking showers with all the other boys, you will see that some boys already have larger cocks and some of the are starting to grow hair under their arms and around their cocks. Some boys hit puberty at your age and others may not hit it until they are out of junior high school.

"I hit it early. I was the only kid in my freshman class who had hair on his chest. By the time I was a junior, I was covered. My cock started to grow when I was in the 5th grade and I had hair around it when I was in the 6th grade. Others didn't until the end of junior high or even in high school.

"You may have noticed that some girls in your class are already starting to develop breasts, some may not for several years. They start growing hair, too. It would be nice if these things happened to everyone at the same time, but it doesn't. It just makes for everyone being confused.

"So don't worry too much about your feelings. They may change tomorrow, or next week or next year. Just don't get overly concerned about it and if you can't talk to your parents about it, I'll be glad to answer any questions I can."

About this time they heard a car come up the driveway and Dale said, "Sounds like one of your parents has come home. Go in the bathroom and wash your face, put on your t-shirt and go have a good time."

"Thanks, Dale, you're the best." Jason rubbed his hands through the hair on Dale's chest once more, gave him a big hug, then stood on his tip-toes and kissed Dale on the cheek. "I love you, Dale," was Jason's goodbye.

• • • • • Author's Note: This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my readers' feedback. I would appreciate your comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say. All Email will be answered. If you wish to receive e-mail notification of subsequent posting, please let me know by sending your request to the e-mail address below. Contact me at: tulsadriller7@aol.com.

Thanks for the overwhelming response to Chapter 1. I received positive replies from all over the world. My special thanks to RW, whom I've known for many years and value his suggestions. Also for the proofreading help of Paul Daventon, author of "Turning the Page" found in the "Adult-Friends" section of Nifty. This story is now complete. Please read it.