Wrangler Butts Ch. 07

"Hey! Watch it, bud," said Darrin.

"I am watchin' it," said Mitch. "And it's makin' me hot again."

"Oh damn, there is no juice left in my balls. And I'm hungry. Let's find some food and relax for the evening."

Mitch moved close and kissed Darrin's neck. "Sounds good. I could try to coax some more liquid protein from you, but maybe solid food would be better."

Darrin turned a little red and shook his head at Mitch. But just thinking about their recent lovemaking caused Darrin's cock to thicken again. He was always amazed at how much Mitch excited him. As they left the hotel room Darrin wondered what would be the next surprise from his lover.

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Mitch could tell Darrin was nervous on their way to the attorney's office. Once they had parked Darrin sat in the pickup, staring at the dash and making no move to open the door. Finally Mitch asked,

"What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you. And I'm not sure how to do it," said Darrin.

"Just say it. You know you can talk to me about anything."

Mitch watched as Darrin visibly tried to summon the courage. Finally he blurted it out.

"The lawyer, he and I were- Lovers, I guess."

Mitch sat back, off balanced by Darrin's news. After absorbing the information for several long minutes he replied,

"Lovers? You 'guess'?"

Darrin let out a loud sigh. "Fuck buddies, friends with benefits, I put out and he fucked me . . . I'm not sure how to explain it."

"What happened?" asked Mitch.

"He got married. Said what we did was just a phase that he was over."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. But I wanted you to know before we went inside," said Darrin.

"Ok, it would have been nice if you had told me earlier and not waited until we are about to walk in his office, " said Mitch with a scowl. He sighed and added, "But I know this is hard for you, I'm trying to be understanding."

"I know you are Mitch. You just can't imagine how much I appreciate it." Darrin looked at his watch and then at the dark doorway. "I guess they are in there waiting. We might as well get this over with." Popping open his door Darrin walked across the short expanse of concrete and through the glass doors, leaving Mitch to trail behind.

Mitch sat in the back of the lawyer's office and watched as Darrin and his family went over his father's will. He watched the blond haired attorney and felt a knot of jealously form in his gut. He was the polar opposite of Mitch. From the almost white blond hair, to the cheeks so smooth Mitch doubted that he shaved more than once a week. This was the competition and they weren't even on the same playing field. Where Mitch was shorter than average and muscular, blondie was taller than Darrin and willowy thin. Darrin was definitely going to be explaining a few things once they were in private.

Mitch turned his focus to the tableau unfolding before him. Darrin had told his mother he didn't see any reason for him to be here, but she had finally talked him into it. Mitch had agreed to come with Darrin, knowing he would need support. But that was before he found out about the ex-lover.

The worst moment came when the will divided his father's assets got to Darrin's portion, and the attorney read 'I want nothing to go to my pervert son'. To Darrin's credit he seemed to let it roll off him, although Mitch knew it was tearing him up inside. They finally got through everything; not surprisingly almost everything went to Darrin's mother. Once the paperwork was settled she looked toward the attorney.

"So the farm is mine now. I can do whatever I want?"

"Yes, ma'am. Some paperwork will need to go through the courthouse, but it's yours."

"So I can sell it?"

Both Darrin and his sister turned toward his mother with looks of shock on their faces.

"Sell it?" said Darrin.

His mother looked at him and nodded, "Yes, your father was wrong and I intend to correct it," she turned back to the lawyer, "Blake, I want to sell the farm. So whatever paperwork needs to be done, do it."

She turned and looked at Darrin, "I know you have a lot of debt from school. I'm giving you some of the money from selling the farm. I think you deserve at least that much."

Mitch watched Darrin reel from the information. His mother and sister said their goodbyes to the lawyer and left. Mitch's eye narrowed as Blake walked around the desk and sat on the edge of it, his package thrust toward Darrin. Mitch could feel the small knot of jealously growing into a raging monster. Then Blake leaned forward and ran his hand over Darrin's neck. Every muscle in Mitch tensed, the touch lingering far too long for his tastes. He then heard the honey-toned voice of the interloper in his relationship.

"Darrin, I'm real sorry about your Dad."

Darrin seemed to start at his voice and looked up with a grunt. "Yeah, I guess."

Blake pulled a chair in front of Darrin, sat in front of him and started rubbing Darrin's thighs. Almost in a whisper he heard, "I'm sorry, Darrin. I wish things had been better between the two of you."

Mitch was seething as he sat only feet away while his boyfriend and his ex-lover had an intimate moment. Almost storming out the door, Mitch controlled himself by making an excuse for Darrin that he was recovering from what had just happened. Mitch wasn't sure what exactly it meant to Darrin, but he was sure the money would help. He looked back to the pair in time to see Blake squeeze Darrin's knee and whisper,

"I miss you."

That was too much for Mitch. Either he and Darrin were leaving now, or Mitch was leaving alone.

"Darrin," said Mitch. When he got no reply he said again louder, "Darrin!"

This time he got a reaction as Darrin slowly looked at him. "Yeah?"

"We need to go. Now!" said Mitch.

They rose and started toward the office door. As they worked their way through the waiting area, Blake followed them. As Mitch opened the door, Blake tugged Darrin back to him and wrapped his arms tight around him. Mitch was fairly certain he whispered something to Darrin because his body tensed. Mitch was not waiting any longer. He stormed through the door, trying to slam it but was foiled by the pneumatic closer. He did manage to slam the pickup door so hard the windows rattled, and Darrin walked out a second later.

As they drove away Mitch was trying to control his fury. He had never been so mad in his life, and it was all aimed at Darrin. Mitch made the entire trip to the hotel in silence, with his arms tightly folded against his chest. He never looked at Darrin but could tell that Darrin was not really aware of him in the cab. This time the 30-minute drive was far too long and Mitch was ready to explode as they walked into the hotel room. Turning on Darrin he almost screamed,

"What the FUCK was that?"

"Was what?"

"Blondie! Blake! Whatever the fuck his name is. He was hitting on you! And you fuckin' let him! And you completely ignored me! Did you fuckin' forget that I was in the goddamn room? Was I an embarrassment, Darrin? Did you fuckin' regret that you had brought your little bitch from college home?"

Mitch turned and paced the room, anger rolling from him. He pivoted when he ran out of room and suddenly Darrin was in his face,

"What the fuck are you talking about you self-centered asshole!" yelled Darrin, "He wasn't hitting on me! He was being nice! We were friends you know! Well once he was a friend of mine."

Mitch rounded on him, "Yeah! I could see how fuckin' friendly you two were. It was fuckin' great to see my boyfriend get felt up by the blond twink!" Mitch looked Darrin in the eyes, his face contorted by the pain and anger.

"I don't care what he did. But you didn't even stop him. It was like I was nothing. I won't let you treat me like that Darrin! I swear to God I won't!"

"I don't know what the hell you are talking about. He didn't fucking touch me! Don't you think I would have done something? Goddamn Mitch! What's your fucking problem! Can't you be about someone other than you for a second? It's been fucking bad and now you want to be a fucking prick about an old friend. What the fuck!"

"He- You- Didn't. What the hell! I'm a prick and self-centered when I'm here only because you asked me to be! What about the hug, did that not happen either? I saw him whisper in your ear too. What'd he fuckin' say . . .that he loved you?"

Darrin's face screwed tighter in his fury. He sucked in a deep breath to begin another tirade. But suddenly Mitch watched the color drain from Darrin's face,

"Yes. . . " said Darrin.

"Yes. Yes what?"

"He said he loved me. . ."

Mitch turned without another word. Darrin watched in silence, not knowing what to do while Mitch packed his bag. Mitch threw in the last of his clothes and zipped it shut with enough force that it was a miracle it didn't bust. As he threw it over his shoulder he turned to Darrin again. For the first time in a very long time Mitch had tears rolling down his face.

"I won't be second. I won't share. You go back to the blond guy. Be his bitch and he can call you to meet for a quick fuck when his wife and kids are gone. Die alone and the whore of some guy playing straight. But don't expect me to hang around. I'm outta here."

With that Mitch turned and walked out the door.

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Morning found Darrin slowly driving up and down the streets, not knowing where Mitch might have gone. He'd tried calling but Mitch had his phone off. Darrin hadn't left any messages although he'd called every 5 minutes for the last 8 hours. His hope was dwindling and he knew if he didn't find Mitch soon, it might never be fixed.

Darrin had thought about what Mitch had said. He still didn't remember Blake doing more than hug him. But Mitch had never lied to him, he certainly couldn't say the same about Blake. But the last hug and the whispered 'I love you and miss you' in his ear was more than enough. If things had been reversed Darrin knew he would be devastated. He was still angry with Mitch, but for leaving instead of talking to him about it. He was usually the flaky one in this relationship, not Mitch. As he slowly drove down yet another street, he saw an all-night diner. Without a plan he was just wasting gas at this point, so he decided to stop, try to eat something, and see if he could think of where Mitch might be.

Darrin walked in and looked around a little surprised. Even at this hour it was almost full, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen so many cowboy hats in one place. Darrin couldn't help but laugh a little to himself at the thought of the west Texas fashion scene. The waitress saw him paused at the door and motioned him to a small corner booth. While she waited he glanced through the menu and rattled off a few choices. After she had walked away he turned and stared out the darkened glass until his breakfast arrived. Darrin's nose told him it was probably delicious, but his stomach knotted harder at the thought of food. Darrin sensed that someone was standing beside him and he looked up.

"Son, she must have ripped out your heart and done the two-step on it for a good long while from the expression on your face."

Darrin started to agree, to hide, but was suddenly just tired, tired of all of it.

"He. And he probably had good reason. But you are right about the Texas two-step."

"Do you mind?" the stranger said and motioned to the other side of the booth. Darrin shook his hand, not even caring what was next. Nothing this guy could say or do was worse than what Darrin had done to himself.

"Son, do you mind some advise from an old cowboy?"

Darrin let out a hollow laugh, "Sure, why not. This day can't get worse."

"You need to find him and fix this, whatever it is.'Cause it's pretty obvious to me that you are head over heels in love."

"Yeah. Well. I have to find him first. And he seems to be long gone," said Darrin, "I've been driving around looking for him all night."

"No luck?"

"No. I can't find him anywhere. I've looked everywhere I can think of. He couldn't have gotten a rental car yet. It's too early. And there are no flights out of the airport for another hour or so. I just can't think of where he might have went."

The old man started laughing, "Son, you are thinking too hard. The bus. I bet he's at the bus station."

Darrin's head snapped up, a smile breaking across his face. "Well shit! Sorry! But you're right! I never thought about the bus. I gotta go. I gotta get to him before he leaves. I need to find the waitress . . ."

Darrin felt a hand on his shoulder, "I got it. Go find him."

Darrin fished out a university business card out and handed it over.

"Please let me know how much I owe you. Please."

The old man took the card and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

"Git outta here, young'un. Now."

Darrin literally ran to the door.

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Darrin walked into the bus station. Scanning it quickly he released a held breath when he spotted Mitch's ubiquitous cap. He slowed down, walking carefully over and sat beside Mitch. He remained silent, trying to think what to say. Finally he gave up the effort to explain it away.

"I'm sorry. You can't imagine how sorry I am," said Darrin.

"Why did you do that? Why did you let him do that?" Mitch asked quietly.

"Mitch, I honestly don't remember anything except the hug at the end. I should have taken care of that when he did it. That's my fault. I'd like to think it was still shock, but Blake and I have a history like I said, but it wasn't as good as I might have let you think." Darrin braced himself, "What you said, his whore, that's basically what I was. He'd call, come over to my place, and fuck me. There was never any kissing, any touching, no affection. I know that now. Now that I've been with you, I understand."

Mitch waved his hand, "Don't, you don't need to do this for me."

"Yes. Yes, I do. Mitch, I never want to be someone's second choice. I guess I'm thankful to Blake for at least not keeping me as his fuck buddy. Otherwise I might not have met you."

Darrin smiled through his tears, "I'll do my best. I promise I'll do better. Just don't leave me."

Mitch ran his hand through Darrin hair and smiled, "Don't do that. You don't have to promise anything like that to me." Mitch squeezed Darrin's shoulder for a second. "Come on. Let's get out of here." He pulled Darrin to his feet and then they walked out together. Just as the glass door closed behind them, Mitch reached back and smacked Darrin on the ass and then turned to smile at him.

A few minutes later they were back in their hotel room. Since neither of them had slept, and real sleep would have to wait until later, they began getting ready. Quickly they showered, separately, and were pulling on clean clothes when Mitch realized that Darrin had stopped. Mitch turned and looked at him.

"What babe?"

"You can't do that any more. This was my fault. I admit that. But you can't do that any more."

Mitch looked at Darrin with a look of confusion, "Do what?"

"Leave. You can't run when it goes bad. Please. Promise you'll never do that again," said Darrin quietly.

Mitch started to spit out an angry retort, and then realized Darrin was right. Mitch had run. Mitch never given up easily, not that he could remember. But he had this time. Why? As he looked over at Darrin's drawn face he found his answer. For the first time in his life he was truly and really in love. And what would happen if he lost Darrin scared the shit out of him. But Darrin was right, next time he would fight tooth and nail to keep his love.

"You're right, babe. No more running," Mitch said. Then smiling he ruffled Darrin's hair. "Now come on and let's get this done. I'm ready to get back to our own place."

Darrin nodded and followed Mitch out the door.

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Late morning found them wrapping up the last of details of the will and property. Darrin had started the meeting this time by introducing Mitch to Blake, and stressing the 'partner' part of the introduction. As they followed Diana and Dana out the door, Blake laid his hand on the back of Darrin's neck and leaned in again. Darrin twisted, knocking his hand loose and faced Blake.

"No, you don't get to do that. Not anymore, not ever. You made your choice, now you live with it. I won't be your convenient fuck ever again."

Blake opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out. Mitch looked at Darrin, slightly shocked too. He seemed to be less and less uncertain of himself. Mitch was sure last night was part of it, but the change had been coming for months. Mitch watched as Darrin walked over to his sister.

"Hey Sis. You have a few minutes to visit?

Dana looked shaken, "Yeah, sure. Let's go for coffee."

Darrin looked at Mitch and glanced toward his mother. Mitch realized that Darrin wanted to talk to his sister alone. He put his walls up to keep Diana's comments from getting to him, and started asking her about various businesses around town. He soon had her recalling the litany of business that had opened recently, and history of each one. Darrin watched as Mitch trailed behind his mother and turned to his sister.

"Sure, coffee would be fine."

They ducked into the ubiquitous downtown café, ordered coffee, and settled into a back table. Darrin slowly swirled his cup, considering what he should say.

"So, why did you give Mom the pamphlets? Last time I knew, you were more rabidly against gays than Dad. Why the change?" asked Darrin.

Dana starred into her cup for several minutes before replying, "Can't a person change, big brother?" She looked up with a self-deprecating smile.

"It's been my experience that no, people don't usually change."

Dana let out a sigh. "I don't suppose you would believe I did it for Mom? You being gone has been slowly destroying her."

"No. I'm not buying it."

"Do you remember Tiffany?"

"Sure, you two met at church. She had a kid didn't she?" said Darrin, confused by the seemingly unrelated change in topic.

"Yes, she'd had him before she graduated from high school."

"Ok . . ."

"He would have been 14."

Darrin waited in silence.

"He came out to his mother last year, said he was gay. She wasn't sure what to do, so she talked to our church group."

"And?"

"Different people gave her different advice. Some were surprisingly accepting of him . . . most told her to throw him out of the house. They said being homeless might cure him . . ."

"And you?"

"I didn't tell her anything. I should have Darrin, but I was quiet."

"What happened, Dana? And why did you not tell her to throw him out too. The last time we talked you would have."

"He killed himself," she said through a shuddering breath. "I didn't because of you. I couldn't image you at 13 and on your own."

Darrin shook his head, even his father, horrible as he was, didn't throw a 13-year-old boy out on his own. Pausing for a second, he looked at Dana.

"That's horrific, that his own mother drove him to kill himself. I really don't know what to say," said Darrin.

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "I killed him, Darrin. I killed a boy just as surely as if had pulled the trigger. I should have said something. I should have taken him in. I don't know what to do. I don't expect forgiveness, but I can try to help when I can."

"No. You didn't kill him. But you didn't help him either. You know how hard being a teenager is anyway, Dana. Well imagine it 10 times worse as a gay teenage boy."

Dana sobbed quietly into her hands, "That poor boy. He's gone now, and his mother will probably never recover." She looked up at Darrin, "I just thought, that could have been you. I could have lost my brother."

Darrin nodded his head, "Yes, I won't lie to you and say I never thought about it. But I'm still here."

She looked at Darrin and with a small smile looked at Darrin, "I joined you know."