Author's Notes:
'By My Side' is a sweet little story that was intended to be a stand-alone short story. I had no luck in keeping it short. Now I'm thinking of sequels... if time allows.
All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older.
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Chapter 1
"Hurry up in there!" Gary barked through the bathroom door.
He was going to be late for school if he didn't get some time in the bathroom to wash off the sweat and grime from doing his morning chores.
As he leaned up against the wall outside the washroom he mentally went through the list of tasks he had to complete every morning for his dad. He'd gotten through them all so he breathed a sigh of relief. If he'd missed something his dad would be sure to get in his face about it. Lately they'd been... less than friendly.
Gary had no desire to be a farmer, following in his dad's footsteps, as the job was just an endless amount of work that gave him no satisfaction but did give him endless body aches.
He was only 18! He shouldn't feel this sore every morning, should he?
Frustrated, he turned back to the door. "I'm gonna be-"
The door opened and his younger brother Dale stormed out, giving him an angry glare.
Gary ignored him and went inside to have his shower.
Their farm house was large but old and the bathroom was on the smallish side for a family of six.
Naturally there was no more hot water by the time he got his turn in the bathroom. With his mother, two sisters, and his brother all getting in before him he always got a cold, and fast, shower.
He shampooed, soaped, and rinsed in record time. He quickly shaved and brushed his teeth as he really was going to be late. He rushed out of the bathroom with his towel wrapped around himself and bumped into his little sister Sarah.
"Ewww! Get your sticky skin away from me!" she squealed.
He scowled at the twelve year old and brushed past her to go into his room, closing the door behind him. He swore his siblings were getting weirder by the day. He glanced at the clock and swore quietly.
Pulling on his worn but clean jeans, fresh socks and his favorite short sleeve plaid shirt, he quickly checked himself out in the mirror on his door.
He wasn't a big man like his dad. While the head of the Truman family was 6', Gary was 5' 9" with a slimmer build thanks to his mom's side of the family. However, his muscles were hard and there was very little fat on his body so he was proud of that. The whole family had lean builds though his father was more heavily muscled. Dale was showing signs of inheriting his dad's build.
He rushed downstairs and grabbed a slice of bacon from Dale's plate, ignoring the sixteen year old's angry yell as he grabbed his truck keys and kissed his mom's cheek. She'd made him a lunch so he picked up the bag and thermos and headed for the front door.
"When are you going to be home? I need you to do the back ninety," his father asked him as the big man entered the house.
Gary groaned. "Why don't you get Dale to do it? He's fully capable of driving the big machine."
"I know he is but I'm asking you," the man frowned at him.
"I'm going to be late today. I have to stop at Mr. Fitzgerald's place on the way home," Gary explained.
"Maybe we need your help more than Wayland Fitzgerald," his father snapped back.
Gary's frustration surged. "But helping him will look better on a resume!"
His father's eyes narrowed in anger and he stormed past towards the kitchen. Gary shook his head and pulled his cowboy boots on. He picked up his backpack, glanced back and saw his mother standing in the hall watching him, making sure he was ok. They shared a small smile and he left.
His old pick-up truck was parked next to the barn so he rushed over to it cursing how late he was. He was about to get in when he spotted someone running down the old laneway between the farm fields. He had to pause and watch.
The sun was still low in the sky so Emma was backlit and Gary smiled. His neighbor and childhood friend always got a lift to and from school with him. This morning he was late so she was coming to meet him.
He had to admire how well she ran. She was a track and field champion at school and moved with the grace and power of a gazelle. She also had the lean muscles of an athlete and amazing long legs.
Gary looked away in embarrassment as he caught himself admiring his best friend's rockin' hard physique.
She trotted up to the truck with a smile on her face, her red pony tail swinging from side to side.
"Couldn't decide which panties to wear this morning?" she panted with a grin, her button nose wrinkling cutely as she watched for his response. She had the bluest eyes and a splash of freckles crossing her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
He smirked at her teasing comment and pointed to the passenger door as he opened his own. Chuckling to herself she made her way around the truck and got in.
Gary nursed the old engine back to life and they buckled in before he got them moving down the long driveway to the main road.
"Can you believe how close graduation is?" Emma gushed.
"Yeah, it feels weird that all those years have passed," he agreed.
He thought back about that and realized they'd been neighbors their whole life. As long as he could remember the Patricks family had lived in the farm house just a half mile down that back lane. He and she had walked that distance more times than he could count. They'd been best friends their whole lives as well. They played as kids in these very fields. Walked down the lane together and took the bus to school together every day as well. Went to mostly the same classes too.
Last year when he'd made enough to buy the old truck, and pay for his own insurance and gas at his dad's insistence, he'd started driving them both to school and to events with their friends. The old truck had expanded their social lives, letting them go to parties in town with their friends.
Not that they were dating or anything. That would be weird. They'd known each other far too long and they were both too comfortable with their friendship to jeopardize it.
He glanced over at her smiling face and grinned as well.
The truck also let him take a job in town doing something he was really good at and enjoyed. He did part time bookkeeping for a couple of businesses in the small community. Namely Monaghan's Flower Shop and the Fitzgerald Funeral Home. Which made him think of his new girlfriend, Marlene Fitzgerald, daughter of the owner, Wayland. She'd taken interest in him when he began working for her father.
Marlene was a knock out and one of the most popular ladies in school. Tall with long blond wavy hair she was a goddess with generous curves. Gary was stunned when she approached him at her father's business and asked him out on a date. After that first night he was smitten. She was a very good kisser.
"You're getting that dreamy look in your eye. You're thinking of Princess Boobs-O-Plenty again," Emma teased him.
"Hey! I haven't teased you about Tarzan Todd in days. I thought we had a cease fire!" he complained.
She held up her hands in surrender. "Mea culpa."
He glanced over at her in confusion and she grinned at him. "Such a country boy," she sighed.
