Two Days Later
Trace found himself sitting on the porch as he tried to decide what to do for the day. He would have loved to go for a swim in the pond, but his arm prevented that. He was trying to decide if he felt like taking Hercules and going for a hike when he saw Jackson walking towards his cabin. He loved to watch the way Jackson moved. He was wearing casual attire of shorts and a somewhat tight fitting t-shirt as he made his way towards Trace's cabin.
"Hey Trace," Jackson greeted as he reached the stairs.
"Hey Jackson," Trace answered, trying to figure out why the other man was there. He hadn't seen Jackson since he'd told him about what had happened back home. As much as he could have wished otherwise, many of his thoughts had centered around the former Marine.
"I was wondering if you had any plans," Jackson told him.
"Not really," Trace answered him. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just going to go for a hike. There are a few trails that I closed off to the rest of the vacationers and was wondering if you'd like to go with me."
"I don't know," Trace answered. He wouldn't mind going on the hike with Jackson, but he wasn't sure how he'd feel about Hercules going along with them.
"He can come too," Jackson told him. He had watched Trace's quick glance at his dog and realized why he was on the fence about going with him. Ever since his talk the other day with Trace, Jackson had found the other man on his mind constantly. He knew that he probably wasn't gay, but figured there was no reason why he couldn't get to know him better.
"I guess we could," Trace answered cautiously. "I had actually just been thinking about taking Hercules and going up the trails."
"Then it's settled," Jackson said with a smile.
"I guess so, just let me grab a bottle of water and put some different shoes on," Trace told him as he headed up the stairs to change shoes.
"The shoes would be a good idea, but don't worry about the water, I have a few bottles in my pack," Jackson told him, shrugging out of the backpack and setting it next to the stairs.
"I'll be right out," Trace told him before heading into the cabin only to come out a few minutes later in loosely tied tennis shoes. "I'm ready when you are."
"Let's go then," Jackson responded, once again shouldering the pack. Even though they were only going for a short hike, he had enough provisions in the pack to last a couple of days in case anything happened. He also figured maybe they could have a picnic lunch once they had reached his favorite spot.
They hiked in silence for a good couple of miles, both of them enjoying just having someone to hike along with. They watched as Hercules went a little ways into the trees to check out a new scent, but never strayed too far from where they walked on the trail.
"So what made you decide to leave the Marines?" Trace asked when the silence became too much for him.
"A few different things I guess," Jackson answered as he questioned how much he actually wanted to tell him. "I guess the biggest thing though was their beliefs on gays."
"Oh?" Trace asked. That single comment had really piqued his interest as he allowed his mind to roam over the possibilities.
"Yeah, I had quite a few friends who turned out to be gay. One of them actually got discharged when he was discovered in a rather compromising position."
"I never could understand the military's stand on gay personnel," Trace answered.
"Yeah, neither did I. I always kind of figured it was never any of their business. Hell, it probably would have ended up being cheaper for them if they didn't make such a big deal out of it. Since the government doesn't recognize partners of the same sex they wouldn't be able to be claimed as dependents. Just think of the benefits they wouldn't have to pay out. As it was, I knew a few as well who were gay but were married just to help keep anyone from suspecting."
"Very true. That whole "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is crap. So I guess since that's the reason that you left, you have no issues with a person's sexuality?" Trace asked quietly.
"If you don't ask, I won't tell," Jackson answered with a small smile.
"Seriously? You?" Trace knew he sounded like an idiot but despite having hoped that maybe Jackson swung his way, he hadn't really let himself think of it as a possibility.
"Is that really so hard to believe?" Jackson asked, hoping he hadn't read Trace wrong. The only good thing was, that with Trace's injured arm, there was no way he could physically hurt him.
"I guess not," Trace answered honestly. "Most people don't think it of me either, I just wasn't expecting it I guess."
"Guess that was some good beating around the bush," Jackson said on a laugh. "At least I think we both found out what we really wanted to know, whether or not we bat for the same team."
"True enough," Trace confirmed. Despite knowing that they both were gay, Trace was a bit nervous and decided to try and get the conversation onto a safer footing. "So where are we headed?"
"Just a spot that I like to go to a couple times a week. It's got an awesome view that I thought you would appreciate."
"Sounds good," Trace answered softly. They walked in a companionable silence as they each pondered what the revelations could mean. They had gone about another mile when the path started to widen before entering a clearing in the trees. Another hundred yards and they came to a bluff overlooking the cluster of cabins down below.
"You hungry?" Jackson asked as he moved towards a crude bench and table that had been fashioned out of a couple of trees.
"Maybe a little bit," Trace answered as he stood a couple feet back from the edge and studied the terrain below. He could see the road that led into the cabins below and could make out each individual cabin. "Bet you've brought a lot of guys up here," Trace said without thinking about how that would sound. When he didn't get an answer he turned and found Jackson watching him. "Shit man, I'm sorry," Trace told him as realization dawned, "that didn't come out right. I didn't mean to insinuate that you'd brought me up here for that reason."
"Well, to answer your question, no, I haven't brought a lot of guys up here. Actually, you're the first. Don't feel guilty, if I had known you were gay, I probably would have brought you up here for exactly the reasons you were thinking, but I didn't know until we were already on our way. I will admit to bringing you up here to give us a chance to get to know each other better though."
"Interesting to know," Trace answered noncommittally as he turned back to the view. He turned what Jackson had said around in his head as he studied the scenery and failed to notice that Jackson had walked up behind him. The first he became aware of the man behind him was when he felt hands settle on his shoulders and turn him away from the view.
"Does that bother you?" Jackson asked cautiously. He wasn't sure what was going on in Trace's head, but he had expected more of a response to his revelation.
"It probably should, but it really doesn't," Trace admitted. "I don't know what good it would do to get to know each other though, we live a couple of hours apart and probably couldn't hold a relationship together."
"Whoa! Who said anything about a relationship? I mean yeah, it could eventually lead to that, but I was just thinking about seeing where it went and if it did reach that point, a couple of hours really isn't all that far."
