After school, Ennis headed out to his truck, not surprised to see Alma standing there. He hadn't exactly been trying to avoid her, but he hadn't been trying to find her either. If she wasn't waiting there, he wouldn't have given her a ride. And judging by the look on her face, she knew that as well. But she didn't look upset about it. She couldn't be upset about anything he did. She had a crush on him and if she had anything to say about it, they were already dating.

Unfortunately, her daddy didn't believe that, so the Del Mars were still lacking one horse.

"Hey, Ennis," Alma said with a warm smile once he was close. "Hope ya don't mind me waitin'. I was afraid you'd forget."

"Yeah, I've had a lot on my mind today," Ennis said, opening the truck door and climbing into the driver's seat.

Alma got into the passenger side. "Speaking of which," she said, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a small package. "Happy birthday." She held the gift out to him.

"Ya didn't have to get me anything," Ennis said. He wasn't one to receive gifts. The only gift his parents ever gave him was a day free from chores. He liked to spend his birthdays alone. He was looking forward to getting home and spending time by himself just sitting in the fields.

"I wanted to," Alma said. "It's a birthday tradition, after all." Of course she didn't know his birthday habits even though they had known each other since they were toddlers. She didn't know because he didn't let people know. He kept things to himself. He didn't let anyone in because he had seen what happened to people who did.

The Del Mars used to have more than just the Beers' as neighbors. Ennis could remember two ranchers, Earl and Rich, who had been run out of town because they were homosexuals. Earl had come over to talk to Ennis' dad and had confided in him about his and Rich's relationship. Earl had thought he could trust Jake, but Jake had went straight to town and told everyone. Ennis never saw Earl and Rich after that and hadn't asked any questions about why they left. Ennis just learned to never confide in anyone because they could betray you.

Ennis took the gift from Alma and opened it as she watched, a bright smile on her face. He dumped the contents into his hand, seeing that it was the bit from a horse's bridle. He studied it for a moment then looked at Alma, who nodded her head excitedly.

"I convinced daddy to give y'all the horse," Alma said. "I know he said he wouldn't till ya took me out, but I know how much y'all need that horse and I thought it was the nice thing to do." She probably thought that it would make him go out with her faster, but he didn't mention that.

"Thanks, Alma," Ennis said, feeling a slight warmth in his stomach from seeing her smile now. He didn't know what had changed, but he was starting to see a different side of her now that proved she wasn't just doing this to get him to notice her. She had stressed the point that it was for "y'all" instead of just "you."

But, perhaps it was just a ploy. Ennis didn't know much about women, after all. She could still just be bribing him.

If so, he would still try to be nice to her.

Ennis climbed up onto the fence around the new horse, Starbright's enclosure to watch the sun set. After dropping off Alma, Ennis had gone home to tell his dad about the horse being given as a birthday gift. Ennis and his dad immediately went back to the Beers' to pick up the horse. Ennis had ridden it back home and then around their land for a few hours before fencing it in. Thanks to the horse, his birthday had been a bit more enjoyable.

Thanks to Alma, he should say. If it wasn't for her talking to her dad, the Del Mars would never have gotten the horse. Because the last thing Ennis was interested in was a romantic relationship. He saw what happened when two people loved each other. His parents rarely had moments where they seemed like they even liked each other. He was better off alone.

He permitted himself a small smile as he watched the sun go down. He was seventeen. Only one more year before graduation. One more year and he could leave home and start his own life. A reality he would probably never see since his parents needed him on the farm, but it was a nice thought. He hated to think that his only possible way off this farm was to marry Alma.

Ennis hopped off the fence and headed inside. His parents had made him a birthday dinner and his mom was still cleaning up as he came inside. She gave him a smile as he walked past them headed to his room. He dressed for bed then crawled under the covers. It didn't take him long to get to sleep.

The next day at school, the time passed fairly quickly. All the other classes breezed on by, including lunch. Ennis had sat with Alma during lunch and she had talked off the wall about anything and everything, giving him the chance to just sit there in silence. She hadn't seemed to mind. After lunch, there were a couple more classes before the sex ed one with Jack Twist. Ennis hadn't exactly been looking forward to the class, but he couldn't deny that he was curious about what Jack would teach them today.

"Today I wanna talk about good ol'masturbation," Jack said once everyone had arrived and settled in to listen. Not everyone was taking notes, probably thinking they didn't want to take it home where their mothers would find it. It would be similar to mothers finding dirty magazines in their sons' rooms. "I'm sure you boys know more about that than you let your folks on, am I right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'd be discussin' a little bit more on this subject if we had ladies in the class, but for now I'm just stuck with you boys. It's more down my alley anyhow, if ya know what I mean."

Jack went on a bit longer on the subject, talking about sex toys that could be used for male masturbation. Ennis tried to pay attention to it all, but it was starting to make him just the slightest bit uncomfortable. He focused on his notes, doodling along the edges of the notebook as time passed.

Finally the bell rang and Jack gave them their first homework assignment despite the fact that he had said the day before that they wouldn't have to worry about homework or tests: "I want y'all to go home and write something. You can hand it in anonymous, if ya want. And I want ya to think about this real hard cos tomorrow I'm gonna be talkin' 'bout it.

"Your sexuality," Jack went on. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to. Just know that your sexuality is nothing to be ashamed of. Be proud of who you are." He held up one finger as if he had forgotten something then reached into his desk and pulled out a pile of pamphlets. He stood up and started to hand them out around the class. "This is for just in case you don't know or are unsure of your sexuality. It lists the type, along with the description. And in the back, there's a quiz you can take that'll tell ya what you sexuality you could fit in to." Once he was finished handing them out, he walked back to his desk at the front of the room.

And as the bell rang and the students filed out, Jack reminded them again they could hand in their assignments anonymously if they decided to do it. Ennis stuffed the pamphlet into his backpack and hurried out after everyone else.

To be continued...