The summer air was dead. It was only Noon and it was already hot. It was going to be another scorcher today. I walked with my head down from Phil's Auto Body on the deserted sidewalk. Phil was my dad. I went to work for him after high school. No prospects for college, I wasn't interested in school anyway. My grades hadn't been that great and besides, I liked working with my hands.
I had gone to a six month trade and tech program in Las Cruces while I lived with my folks. My dad was glad for the help and paid me well enough for me to have my own place and drive a new Ford F-150. Not a bad life for a twenty-four year old living in San Pablo, about twenty minutes south of Las Cruces and about an hour north of El Paso.
My social calendar wasn't exactly full, but I had a few friends in Las Cruces. I didn't date as girls weren't exactly my thing. In high school, girls were all over me to go out as I was a jock, tall and, I guess, good looking enough; but I knew I was gay when puberty hit and I came out to my parents after I graduated. They had suspected but allowed me to find my own way, thankfully. While they were supportive, they also cautioned me that since we lived in a small southwestern town, it was probably best keeping it on the down low. I had driven to El Paso a couple of times and gone to a gay bar, but that really wasn't my thing. San Pablo was a town of less than a thousand people and it wasn't exactly a hot bed of gay rights. Although there was a lesbian couple that ran a
kachina
shop downtown selling what nots and Hopi rugs to tourists. Everyone in town gossiped about them, but over all, the town was pretty tolerant.
The auto body shop was busy. Most of our business came from Las Cruces. I was a fairly good mechanic and my dad and another guy, Jim, ran the body shop. My days normally consisted of going to work and coming home to watch TV with my Australian cattle dog, Bonnie. Grey and tan, she had one blue bright blue eye and one green eye. She was my companion and I took her to the shop with me every day. It was a lonely life, but a good life.
On weekends, I would usually drive into Las Cruces and pick up a b-ball game in the evenings with some of the college guys or go to a movie. I shied away from the local hang out just down the street from the shop, the Canyon Club. It was a greasy spoon and bar with pool tables. It got rowdy on weekends and there was usually a fight or two for the local sheriff to break up. Not my type of place. On weekdays, however, that's where I would walk from the shop, two blocks to the Canyon Club to pick up my lunch and take it back to the shop to eat.
On that hot summer day, Bonnie was tagging along behind me as I walked those two blocks, my cap down over my eyes. The front door to the Canyon Club was propped open and cool air was pouring out into the street from a swamp cooler that was barely able to keep up. My work shirt was damp from sweat and my boots kicked up dust even off the concrete sidewalk.
Walking into the bar, my eyes struggled to adjust from the bright New Mexico sun to the dimly life interior. I stood in the doorway for a second to get my bearings.
"Jackson," I heard a deep baritone voice boom from the back by the pool tables.
I turned my cap around so the brim was at the back of my neck to clear my view. I had a puzzled look on my face as I tried to decipher if that someone was talking to me. My name was Ethan, not Jackson. Wait, Danny Ray used to call me Jackson back in high school. I saw an arm waiving me to come to the back of the bar.
I approached him, my mind trying to adjust to the difference between the man I was looking and the boy from high school. Danny Ray was two years younger than me, but he had a brother, Randy, who was my age. Danny Ray was kind of pest as a kid, but he was always around us older boys. In high school, he was a short, skinny, little shit with curly coal black hair. He and his brother were kind of trouble makers, smoking and drinking. Their older sister turned out to be a heroin addict. The family was kind of poor, but the boys always had cars. I had a crush on Randy when I was in school and that is where I developed my like of automobiles. I would drive around with him in some sweet rides and pretend that he was my boyfriend. It was a good fantasy, never to be realized. Randy died in a car accident right before we graduated, that nearly killed his folks too, now that their oldest son was gone.
I liked Danny Ray enough, even if he was a pest. He was cut kid, but he was only sixteen when I graduated and I never really thought about him much. He was always trying to be my best friend and called me Jackson, for some silly reason. After his brother died, he was kind of a lost kid, but he cleaned up his act after that, didn't get in any more trouble and joined the Marines after graduating. I hadn't seen him since. That was four years ago. I was now twenty-four and he would be twenty-two.
"Jackson, how the fuck are you," Danny Ray said with a big grin. He sat on the corner of a pool table holding on to his cue balancing it on the floor.
"I'm good," I said smiling back. I was standing in front of a man I really didn't recognize. His curly black hair was shaved down to a military buzz, but he sported a fashionable beard the same length as his hair -- short. He was muscled, every bit a jarhead. His arms had grown with muscled biceps and sculpted triceps. His hairy forearms were strong and led down to a set of man hands, big and broad. He was wearing his marine fatigues and a white tee shirt with his tags hanging down between his sculpted pecs. A thin waist, made his upper torso look enormous by comparison, and his thighs were thick and muscled as he sat on the edge of the pool table. I'm sure my mouth was watering as his big, brown eyes stared through me. I watched as he reached forward with his right hand and pulled me into him. I felt his feet wrap around my calves and his ankles lock around my legs, holding me from moving. I felt weak in the knees, but I couldn't help but just look at his handsome face.
"It's good to see you again, Jackson," he whispered in my ear.
"It's good to see you again, Danny Ray," I mumbled, barely able to talk.
"Don't call me Danny Ray!" his voice became deep and serious, "Danny Ray died in Afghanistan. It's just Danny now." His hand was squeezing my bicep and I felt that there might be bruises when I felt his hand finally relax and a smile return to his face.
"Yes sir," I answered with a certain look of hesitation. Why was I calling him sir? Fuck, he was younger than me. Maybe it was just his commanding presence.
"Haven't been called sir, since I got back. Kinda like it though. The men that I commanded in my unit called me sir. Having you call me sir is kinda hot," he grinned.
"Ya, your dad was by the shop last week, told me you were back," I tried to induce a conversation feeling a little confused. Was he flirting with me? No, it was all just wishful thinking on my part. Still, his ankles were locked around my calves, holding me in close to him and his hand was now holding mine.
"Flew into Holloman last week. Just getting readjusted to civilian life," he said.
"Am I making you nervous?" he said with a grin.
"A little," I answered truthfully. My hand was trembling, so it wasn't hard for him to tell.
"Good," was his response, "mean's you're interested."
"You are gay, aren't you?" he whispered very softly in my ear and then blew a hot breath against my neck. I felt a shiver run down my back and thought I might faint.
My shoulders slumped and my head dropped. How did he know such a private thing?
"I need to pick up my lunch and get back," I said trying to back away from him.
Just then Beth, the haggard waitress, yelled over the bar, "Danny, you want another draft?"
She was only in her thirties, but looked much older. She was rode hard and put away wet. Her cigarette voice was harsh. She had a passel of kids and none of them had the same baby daddy. I liked her, but she was a rough character.
"No thanks, Beth," he answered, "but Jackson needs a burger and fries to go."
He didn't miss a beat and pulled me back into him again. "Now as I was saying, you are..."
I interrupted, my face flushed red, "ya, but how?"
"Jackson, you're cute when you're blushing," he said, "I've know for a long time. Why do you think I was always trying to get your attention when I was a kid? You were a good lookin jock with a hot bod and no girlfriends. Gay."
I cleared my throat and mumbled, "So are you?"
"What do you think?" he said squeezing my hand. That brought a smile to my face and my nervousness seemed to ease a bit. But damn, he was handsome and that made me feel a twinge in my crotch.
Beth called out, "Ethan, your order's ready." She was eyeing the fact that I was standing between Danny's legs and he was holding my hand. A slight grin crossed her withered face.
"I'll pick you up at seven," Danny whispered in my ear.
