Farm Call

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

The closer Dan got to the city, the more his stomach felt like the butterfly house at the local zoo. The feelings of apprehension and excitement kept increasing as he pulled off the interstate and followed the GPS instructions to The Flame.

When the smooth female voice announced, “Arriving at destination on right,” Dan felt the deepest swoop of trepidation yet. He stopped his car and stared at the door of the bar.

The Flame was nothing to write home about: just an old building in the style of the early thirties with a plain black door. The building was several stories high and the windows on the upper floors were covered with shades that appeared ancient and dingy.

As he watched, two young men dressed in tight, sleeveless muscle shirts and skinny jeans came down the street. They were laughing and talking. They opened the door of the bar and went in.

Dan took a deep breath. He’d dressed in a green, short sleeve shirt and tan khakis. He swallowed, put the car in drive, and left. He got about two blocks away when he stopped and pulled over again.

No, you’ve come this far. You’re gonna go through with this, he told himself. You’re not going to use how you’re dressed as an excuse for backing out.

When he got back to The Flame, he parked, got out of his car, crossed the street, and walked to the door. He hesitated, squared his shoulders, and went in.

It was dark inside. Dimmed overhead can lights, candles on the tables, and the lights from the illuminated liquor shelves behind the bar provided the only light. Loud rock music played over the speakers. As his eyes adjusted, he saw it was fairly crowded, although it was still early in the evening. Men stood together in groups or in pairs. Here and there Dan saw a man by himself. The bar was crowded with men standing elbow to elbow. Some were engaged in conversation, others were surveying the crowd. A few younger guys were gyrating on a hardwood square in the middle of the room to the heavy beat of the rock music. Dan was relieved to see that there was a wide range of age groups as well as a variety of physical types among the patrons.

Dan was standing near the door. It opened and a man Dan judged to be in his late forties or fifties came in. As he walked by he gave Dan’s butt a squeeze. “Nice ass.”

Dan felt himself begin to panic. This isn’t for me, he thought and turned to leave. As he did, he walked directly into a tall man who was just coming in. The man held Dan by the shoulders as if to steady him. Dan’s arms went around the man’s waist.

“Leaving so soon?” the man asked in a deep, husky voice.

Dan looked up into a handsome face that oozed sexuality. The man had dark hair, a close cropped goatee, and penetrating blue eyes. His full lips seemed to pout and smile at the same time. He had an air of something forbidden about him.

How could one face produce such mayhem in Dan’s mind? His c**k plumped.

Before Dan could pull himself together to respond, the man said, “You’re new here, right? I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at The Flame before. If I did I sure would remember you.”

The man still hadn’t taken his hands off Dan’s shoulders, and Dan’s were still on the guy’s hips.

“This is…” Dan croaked. He cleared his throat. “This is my first time.”

The guy laughed. “That’s good. Because if you’ve been here before and I’ve missed you, I’d think I was losing my touch. A sexy guy like you is hard to overlook.”

Dan was afraid he was going to go to full staff if he stood being held so close to this guy and gazing into that fantastic face. He dropped his hands from the guy’s waist and took a step back.

“Come on,” the stranger said, “I’m gonna buy you a drink.” The man laid an arm across Dan’s shoulders and steered him to the bar.

“Hey, Rocky,” one of the bartenders called out as the two found a space at the bar. “How’s it goin’, man?”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Rocky said, pulling Dan closer and giving him a sensuous smile.

The barman snickered and winked at the men. “What’re you drinkin’?”

“My friend here will have…” Rocky said, looking at Dan and mesmerizing him with his beautiful blue eyes.

“A vodka martini,” Dan managed to say without removing his eyes from Rocky’s.

Rocky broke the spell by looking away. “Good choice. Make that two.”

“Comin’ right up,” the bartender said.

“Now…” Rocky raised his eyebrows and c****d his head.

“Uh—Dan,” Dan said.

“Dan. Tell me, where have you been all my life?”

Dan wanted to say, “Waiting for you.” But instead he just smiled and shrugged.

The bartender returned with their drinks.

Rocky picked up his glass and raised it in a salute. “Here’s to the beginning.”

Just what Rocky meant by that, Dan wasn’t sure, but he suddenly knew what he wanted it to be the beginning of. “To the beginning,” he said, picking up his drink.

They clinked glasses and each took a sip.

“So, tell me, Dan. Why have you never been in here before?”

“Well, actually this is the first time I’ve ever come to a place like this.”

Rocky raised his eyebrows and a curious smile spread across his face. He leaned closer and said in a seductive voice, “Then I hope I can make your first time worth it.”

A thrill of excitement ran through Dan’s body. Was this really happening?

“Tell me a little about yourself,” Rocky said, giving Dan another of his fabulous smiles, then taking a sip of his martini.

“Well, I’m a—”

“Roscoe!” a loud voice interrupted him.

Rocky rolled his eyes and looked exasperated. He turned to greet the large, older man who was coming toward them. “Hello, Warren.”

“Roscoe, you naughty boy! I’ve been calling you for weeks and weeks and you haven’t returned my calls. Oh, hello there,” Warren said as he came up to the men and caught sight of Dan. “Is this the reason you’ve been ignoring me, Roscoe? He is cute!” Warren draped an arm over Rocky’s shoulder as he addressed Dan. “Roscoe, introduce us.”

Rocky chuckled. “Warren, this is Dan.”

Dan noticed that Rocky gave no answer to Warren’s question of why he hadn’t been called.

“Well, hello, Daniel!” Warren said dramatically. “Now, if Roscoe here doesn’t treat you right, just remember me. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Uh…okay?” Dan said uncertainly.

“Listen, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your drinks. Call me.” He kissed Rocky on the cheek. “Nice to meet you, Daniel.”

Lovebirds? Dan thought as he watched Warren flounce off. What does he mean by that?

His face reddened as he realized how naïve he was about situations like this.

His wondering was interrupted when Rocky laughed. “Old queen,” he said.

“Roscoe?” Dan asked, turning his attention back to Rocky.

“Warren calls everyone by their full name. He called you Daniel, didn’t he? Now where were we? Oh yes, you were just going to tell me about yourself.”

“Like I said, I’m a—”

“Rocky!”

Dan turned his head to see a very young looking man coming toward them. Dan wondered if he were even old enough to be in a bar.

This time Rocky didn’t roll his eyes. Instead he smiled, got up, and greeted the young man with a hug.

“Wesley.”

Dan watched as Rocky held this boy/man called Wesley. He wondered what was going on. Whereas Warren’s greeting was all loud and light hearted, Wesley’s was tentative and timid—almost plaintive.

Wesley started to say something. However, before he even got his first word out, Rocky said, “Wesley, this is Dan.”

Wesley turned and looked as if he’d just noticed Dan was there. Dan could see a sadness in the young man’s eyes.

“Hi,” Wesley said softly. He stepped out of Rocky’s embrace. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s okay,” Rocky said. “Listen, I will call you this week, I promise.”

Wesley gave him a weak smile. “Okay, thanks.” Turning his attention to Dan, Wesley said, “Nice to meet you.”

Dan nodded and watched as Wesley walked away. He looked at Rocky.

“Nice kid. He’s got lots of issues. Feel sorry for him. I’ve been trying to help him out some, but…” Rocky said, shaking his head and sighing sadly before taking a sip of his drink.

“But what do you say we get out of here. We’ll never get to know each other with all these interruptions. How about we go to my place?”

Dan felt his pulse quicken. Even though somewhere in his subconscious he’d hoped something like this would happen. Now that it seemed to be occurring, he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“But you just got here. Are you sure you—”

“I got what I came for,” Rocky said with that hypnotizing grin, making Dan go weak in the knees. “Let’s go.”

“Well…okay.”

Rocky draped an arm over Dan’s shoulder once more and steered him toward the door.

* * * *

Dan followed Rocky’s Fiat convertible in his car. Rocky was hard to keep up with; he drove fast and ran yellows with abandon. So intent was Dan on not losing him, or getting into a crash, that he hardly thought about what he might be getting himself into—that was until they stopped in the parking garage of a posh high-rise condominium. When he got out of his car and watched Rocky walking toward him, his heart began to race, and he felt his d**k begin to harden.

The man was beautiful. He moved with a sensuous grace that accentuated his attractiveness. “Follow me,” he said. They walked across the parking structure. Rocky inserted a pass key into the lock, and they got into an elevator. As the car began to rise, Rocky winked at Dan. He pointed to a security camera. “I’ll have to keep my urges under control for now,” he quipped.

Dan swallowed hard.

They exited the elevator and walked down a carpeted corridor. Dan felt a mixture of apprehension, excitement, and arousal. He almost found it hard to breathe.

Rocky stopped, took out a key, and opened a door. He stepped aside and gestured for Dan to go in. As Dan passed him, Rocky said, “Welcome to my humble home.”

Dan walked into the entry hall. Rocky closed the door. He turned Dan to face him. He smiled, put one arm around Dan’s waist, cupped Dan’s crotch with the other, and softly moaned, “Oh, yes,” as he pulled Dan into a kiss.

Dan’s arms, as if being controlled by an unseen force, wrapped themselves around Rocky’s back. Dan pressed against Rocky’s rock-hard, muscular chest, felt the man’s hard c**k against his stomach, and welcomed Rocky’s tongue, like he would an old friend, into the recesses of his mouth. Then it was like The Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve all rolled into one. Desire and lust exploded in the very core of his being. Dan wanted this man, needed this man in a way he’d never felt with Christine. He pressed himself harder against Rocky, as if he wanted to absorb him, be absorbed by him, or both.

Rocky responded to Dan by kissing him more deeply, hands running over Dan’s back. He ended his journey by squeezing and kneading Dan’s ass. Rocky’s moans mingled with Dan’s gasps.

Rocky pulled back slightly but with his lips still on Dan’s. Breathing hard, he said, “You’re fantastic. I want to see, feel, and taste every inch of you.”

Dan nodded, unable to find words to express how much he wanted to experience all there was of Rocky, as well.

Rocky took Dan by the hand and led him through the opulent living room to a set of stairs. At the base Dan said, “Wait!”

Rocky looked at him, disbelief on his face. “What?’ he snapped almost sharply.

“I just want you to know that I’ve never been with a man before.”

Rocky’s expression softened. He pulled Dan up on the step to stand next to him. Cupping Dan’s chin in his hands, he murmured, “All the better,” then kissed him.

* * * *

It was past midnight. Dan lay on Rocky’s large, round bed. Rocky was spooned against Dan, an arm across his stomach. Dan could feel the man breathing regularly as Rocky’s hair-covered chest pressed against Dan’s back. Dan could also feel Rocky’s c**k against his ass.

Dan pictured that beautiful c**k. He couldn’t ever remember seeing anything so wonderful: the red, flared head, the veiny shaft, its length and thickness that had taken his breath—as well as his virginity—away. Those full, round balls, the memory of touching them, fondling them, made Dan shudder. This, in turn, caused Rocky to stir, move his hand to Dan’s chest, give it a small squeeze, and press his d**k harder into the crevice of Dan’s ass.

That c**k had been inside him. At the moment Rocky had thrust it into him, Dan forced himself to sublimate beyond the pain, to the exquisite reality that he was united with a man. It was as if Rocky’s masculinity was flowing through that organ and into every fiber of Dan’s body, fulfilling every s****l need he’d ever had, drenching him in maleness.

Dan would have to call Julee in the morning. He’d find some plausible excuse for why he hadn’t come home the previous night and why he needed her to take care of Lad and Lady. Maybe he could tell her he’d been on call and there was a foaling emergency—that he had to be there all night to help the mare deliver, that he might be a while getting home today.

There was at least partial truth to his story. He was on call starting at midnight and it was past that now. His morning call to Julee was a of couple hours away. Just then all he wanted to do was lie there next to Rocky and let his new sense of identity permeate through him.

Dan knew he’d been on a journey, but his destination had never been clear to him. He now understood for the first time in his life that the reason his evolution to heterosexuality had never been complete was because it never had been who he really was destined to be. Daniel Parker was a gay man.

He pressed back against Rocky and ran a hand down Rocky’s forearm, still draped across his chest. Dan intertwined his fingers with Rocky’s and sighed contentedly.