Twisted (19 page)

“Thank you, Jeffy.”

“You’re very welcome, and thank
you
for sharin’.” He laughed, and I went in the bathroom and got a washcloth, which I wet with warm water. I cleaned off his belly, chest, and butt, and then wiped off myself. I threw the washcloth into the bathroom and sank into bed with him. He snuggled into me, and I put my arms around him and kissed the back of his neck.

“Let’s get some sleep, buddy. We done used up this day.”

Chapter Eight

I
WOKE
up with Mike in my arms. He’d been stirring slowly and moving more, so I knew he was about to wake up. I looked up at the skylight and saw the indistinct light of winter coming in. I glanced over at the clock. It was a bit after eight. I hoped that Smitty and Jason were more responsible than me and Mike and had gotten breakfast for the dudes. I nudged Mike.

“Hey there, sleepyhead, wake up! We got things to do and dudes to feed.”

“Mornin’, Jeffy. I hope somebody already got ’em breakfast. We’re gettin’ lazy.”

I stretched and jumped outta bed. I put on Mike’s longhandles and socks. He grinned at me. I knew it really turned him on when we switched clothes. I pulled on my jeans and a shirt. I brushed my teeth while Mike was getting dressed. Just before we headed down the stairs, I noticed that the door was ajar again. Apparently we had been in such a hurry last night, we left it open a crack. I turned to Mike.

“We gotta make sure we close the bedroom door, buddy. With dudes in the house, we don’t wanna put on a show.”

“I didn’t even check it or think of it, Jeffy.”

“Well, let’s just remember for the future.”

When I got downstairs, no Bryan, David, or AJ were there. I could hear Jason and Smitty in the kitchen.

“That’s gotta itch like hell, Jason.”

“All the guys do it, Bert, both straight and gay. Hell, even Josh, since Renee talked him into it. Besides, once you get used to it, it doesn’t itch at all.”

“You gotta keep it up though, so it doesn’t itch, right?”

“Well, yeah, you do.”

“And you say it’s a new trend?” Just then I walked into the kitchen.

“Mornin’, guys, do what?”

“Shave below the belt,” Smitty answered, shaking his head. “I walked into the bathroom to take a shower this morning, and there was Jason, shaving his crotch.”

“Just about everyone does it.”

I felt Mike behind me. “Does what?”

“Shaves their balls, Mike. Some guys shave off everything, others just their balls and around the base of their dick.”

Mike looked astounded. “Why would they do that?”

Jason smirked. “It feels good, it makes you look bigger, and a lot of guys, and apparently girls, like it.”

Mike still looked unconvinced. “Girls like it when guys do that?”

Jason nodded. “That’s what my straight friends tell me. Josh does it because Renee asked him to.” I had to laugh at the expression on both Mike’s and Smitty’s faces.

“He’s right, guys. When I used to go to the gym in San Francisco, I’d see a lot of guys who shaved below the belt, both gay and straight.” Jason looked at me with those puppy dog eyes. I changed the subject. “So, you get the dudes off okay?”

Smitty answered. “We did. They all went skiing.”

“Even AJ?”

“Yep, he seemed anxious to try it.”

“Thanks, guys. I was gonna ask you, Smitty, are you and Sandy up for karaoke on Friday at the Schoolhouse?”

“I’ll run it by her, but I’m pretty sure she’ll say yes. Maria is gonna be stayin’ with her this weekend, so maybe she could come too.”

“Sure, can you ask José, Josh, and Renee too?”

“I can do that. It sounds like fun.”

“Can I go?” Jason was looking from me to Mike to Smitty.

I answered. “If they allow folks under twenty-one, sure. If not, we’ll figure out some other time and place where you can go with us.”

“Okay, it would be fun to go with you all.”

“It would be fun to have you go with us. Mike, is oatmeal okay for you?”

“Sure.”

I began to boil some water. While we were talking, Mike had poured me a cup of coffee. As I was making the oatmeal, Smitty and Jason finished up and headed off to the bunkhouse. Mike and I were alone in the kitchen. He’d made some toast, too. We sat down at the kitchen table with our oatmeal and toast. Mike looked at me.

“Jeffy, I think it’d be really hot if you’d shave my balls and around my dick.”

“You do now, do you?”

“Yeah, just havin’ you do that to me, usin’ a razor down there, sounds really hot. Please?” He looked at me with pleading eyes. I wondered if he and Jason practiced that together.

“That would really get you goin’, huh?”

“Yeah, it sounds really hot to me.”

“I reckon I could do that. What do I get out of it?” I knew I had a lascivious grin on my face.

“You can take whatever you want.”

“I’ll do that anyway.” I winked at him.

“Then I’ll just have to figure out somethin’ real special for you.”

“You got a deal then.” We finished our breakfast and had more coffee.

“You still up for skiin’ to Winslett and back?”

“I sure am, Jeffy. Maybe we can have lunch there, too.”

“Okay, we can find out if the Schoolhouse pub lets in people under twenty-one in the evenings, for Jason.”

We cleaned up quickly and got dressed in ski clothes pretty quick. We were on the trail in no time.

It was still cold, and there was no wind. The sun was muffled by a kind of a haze I always thought of as ice fog. We’d been skiing for almost an hour and a half and were about a half hour from Winslett. We’d be there right about noon. Even with a relaxed lunch and a long visit with Mary Grace and a piece of pie in the bakery, we’d be back in plenty of time to have dinner with the dudes. I was thoroughly enjoying being out on the trail. We were keeping up a good pace, but it wasn’t exhausting. Mike was right behind me. He was definitely getting better at skiing. Occasionally we’d see deer in the fields where the wind had left bare patches. We also saw some wild turkeys and an eagle, only about a half mile from the ranch. There were quite a few horses in the fields also, all shaggy with their winter coats. It made me remember to set up a time to look at the Akhal Teke horses and the Spanish Barbs. I needed to look at the pony for kids too.

As I was skiing along, I was thinking just how lucky I was. I really enjoy the outdoors, and the valley has to be one of the most beautiful year-round destinations in the country. Looking at the animals and birds in the fields was beautiful. The mountains were out, all covered in snow and painting an imposing picture to the west. The hills of the valley were covered in some places, dotted in others with pines, spruce, and fir. The beauty of it all made me smile.

I was doubly lucky in that I had found someone to share it all with. I’d dated before and even had a boyfriend, but no one like Mike. I really treasured every minute we spent together. I’d never really had a sidekick who I could hang around with, have fun with, and who fit in with my friends. I stopped in an area where the trail came down to a hollow by the river. The river was frozen, and there were icicles hanging off the rocks. The trail was surrounded by pines, and I could smell the fresh pine on the air. Mike skied up next to me and stopped. His beard had ice hanging from it, around his mouth. He looked really cute in his formfitting ski tights with the ice hanging off his beard.

“What’s up, Jeffy?” I pulled him into me and gave him a long, deep kiss. I could tell he was surprised at first, but then he melted against me.

“Wow, thanks, any special reason for that?”

“I was just thinkin’ on how lucky I am to be in this time and this place and with you. It made me wanna show you how lucky I am because of you.”

He beamed at me. “You make me feel real special.”

“You are special, buddy. Don’t ever forget that.” We kissed again and then began to ski toward Winslett.

We got to Winslett in about half an hour. We took off our skis and left them in one of the racks outside the general store. We sat on one of the benches in front of the store, relaxing a bit and drinking some Gatorade that we’d bought. Winslett was in its sleepy, winter mode. There were very few tourists around. I looked around to see if I could see Bryan and David, but they weren’t in evidence and neither were their skis and poles in any of the racks I could see. After a few minutes of inactivity, we were both getting cold, so we walked over to the Schoolhouse Brewery and found out they do allow minors. Then we headed into the artists’ co-op. Mary Grace rushed out from her office in back to greet us.

“Jeff, Mike, I’m so happy to see you both! Would you like some coffee?”

“Mary Grace, I ain’t gonna say no to a nice warm cup of coffee after a long ski trip.”

“Did you boys ski all the way from the ranch?”

Mike nodded. “Yep, we sure did. Coffee sounds great, Mary Grace.”

She bustled into the back and in a few minutes returned with two steaming mugs of coffee. She seemed preoccupied and distracted.

“Is somethin’ up, Mary Grace?” She looked at me a moment before answering.

“I’m just really upset. Have you heard that they found another body in the Wenatchee River, west of Leavenworth?”

“Mike’s dad mentioned that.”

“They identified that poor boy from the river. It turns out he was one of Jason’s friends. Sandy was in here when she got a phone call from Smitty, who had heard the news. He recognized the name and asked Jason about the guy without saying why he wanted to know. Sandy is going out to the ranch, and she and Smitty are going to tell him. I’m very worried about how Jason will take this. It’s apparently even worse, since the young man’s family wouldn’t even claim the body. Sheriff Johnston had heard, from the police in Wenatchee, that when they identified the body and contacted the family, that the mother said God judged her son.”

“I should call my dad and ask him to talk with Jason.” Mike looked at Mary Grace.

“That’s right,” I added. “He might take it better, comin’ from me or Mike. We were with him when he skied up to the body on the trail. He also knows how we lost our friend Pedro last year.”

“Jeff’s got a point, Mary Grace. My dad is a counselor with PFLAG, so he’d be happy to help.”

“That makes sense, I guess. I just feel helpless. All these poor young men, it’s such a horrible tragedy.”

Mike smiled at her. “Why don’t you do a couple of spells, Mary Grace, one for Jason’s friend, that he has an easy transition, and one for Jason, that he’ll be okay and find the strength to deal with this.”

She absolutely beamed at him. “That is a wonderful idea. Honestly, between this and that fanatic Spencer, I’ve just been beside myself. I’m really thankful to your dad for calling that hypocrite on his behavior.”

“Is there anything we can do to help with the Spencer business, Mary Grace?”

“Thanks, Jeff, but not really. In all actuality, we got more visitors to the gallery after some news station in Seattle picked up the story yesterday. Today has been pretty busy. People have been coming in to show support.”

“Mike was asking you about spells. Isn’t there something you could do to him?” She looked at me very seriously.

“There is a great deal I
could
do, but I won’t do it.” She put heavy emphasis on the word “could.”

“Why not?”

“We believe that whatever we put out into the universe comes back to us three times over. If I were to cast a spell which hurt Spencer, that hurt would come back to me three times over. It doesn’t matter that we may think that he deserves it. The universe will put things right in its own time and on its own schedule. The actual only rule we have to live by as witches is, ‘And it harm none, do what ye will.’ I will not harm Spencer.”

“You’re a wonderful lady, Mary Grace. I have to really respect you for that.” Mike nodded as I spoke. It struck me again just how lucky I was to have friends like Mary Grace. She might be a bit eccentric, but she has a heart of gold.

“On a more pleasant note, I also wanted to talk to the two of you about your art. Are you showing your art anywhere else?” Both of us shook our heads no.

“Would you mind my putting in the co-op’s bulletin that the co-op is the only place which shows your art? In other words, we have an exclusive showing.”

“I don’t mind.” Mike beat me to the punch.

“Me neither.”

“That’s fantastic. The folks around here really like that we have a couple of local artists.”

She was concerned that the co-op was seen by the local folks as another institution that the people from Seattle brought. About twenty-five or thirty years ago, quite a few well-to-do folks from Seattle began buying up property in the valley. Although their money did revitalize the towns around here, they also drove property values up, built a lot of big houses, and have really changed life around here. There have also been quite a few instances where the owners of older or really rundown houses in the valley just haven’t been able to sell them. The old MacElroy place north of town and the old Schmidt place by Twisp are two that have been vacant for almost twenty years. There’s always been a subtle, “us versus them,” attitude on both sides. I’m the only real local artist in the co-op, and my showing my art does go a long way to reducing that feeling of the co-op being an outside venture. Since Mike cowboys for a local outfit, he’s seen as a local too.

“I have a few more carvings I made for sculptures, and also have some molds for Western jewelry. I’ll make an opportunity to work on it, so I should have some more stuff for you in a week or two.”

“Fantastic. Mike, are you working on your hatbands and belts and key chains?”

“I will. I’ll have two more belts and several hatbands for you next week.”

“Great!” She was so happy; she rubbed her hands together excitedly. We chatted for another half an hour. We said goodbye and headed over to Rick’s bakery to have some pie and more coffee before skiing back to the ranch. Sandy and Maria were planning on being there tonight, so they would cook dinner for the dudes. AJ had asked me to tell him more about cowboy culture. I set aside some time after dinner, and when Bryan and David heard about it, they wanted to listen in too. So I reckoned I was going to be Professor Jeff, teaching Cowboys 101.