Ennis couldn't sleep that night. His thoughts were just a jumble of everything that had happened, at the school with Jack and in the barn with Alma. What happened with Alma was what his dad expected to happen and had pretty much given his blessing for it to happen. The fact that he couldn't go to his parents about it made him feel alone. But he could talk to Jack. At least until Jack packed up and left once they all passed the class. Jack would be gone and then who would Ennis have to talk to about things he couldn't bring up with his parents?

Catching a few winks of sleep, Ennis woke up early and before everyone else. He quietly headed out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom, stripping down and jumping into the shower. Once he was finished showering, he got dressed then headed downstairs and out the door. He thought about getting some chores done, but he instead headed for the barn. He saddled up Starbright then took him out for a ride.

He just wanted to clear his mind, so he rode until he couldn't see the house anymore. The sun wasn't up yet, so the air was chilly, but it helped clear his mind. He slowed the horse to a walk then just enjoyed the silence of nature as the time passed. He knew the area, so there was no worries of getting lost. He could ride for miles and miles. And out here, he didn't have to worry about anyone else.

He would be in deep shit once he got back home, but that would be dealt with when the time came. He just didn't have the mindset to sit in church for a couple of hours, sitting next to Alma. She would probably be pissed about him not being there as well, but at least she forgave him quickly with the right excuse. His daddy on the other hand... there would be no forgiveness there. Ennis would end up with extra work this week and miss out on school for a few days. His mom wouldn't allow his dad to ground Ennis, so no worries there.

Ennis rode out to a small river, hopping off the horse to sit under a tree. Starbright stood idly by, nibbling on the grass. Ennis sat back against the tree as the sun came up. Breathing in the fresh morning air, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up to the sound of a truck approaching. Starbright was startled, but didn't wander off too far. Ennis got up to grab the lead just as his dad was getting out of the truck and storming over to Ennis. His mom waited in the passenger's seat. His parents were both wearing their Sunday best, so either they were on the way to town or just coming back. Judging by the position of the sun, straight above, they were coming home from church. Ennis had slept the morning away.

Jake didn't waste time with talking. He just backhanded Ennis across the face then hit him again when Ennis didn't cower before him. Ennis gritted his teeth and stepped back, but said nothing. His dad pointed a finger in his face. "You better have a fuckin' good explanation for runnin' away like ya did, you little sack o' shit," he said. "Your mother's been worried sick all mornin'! We almost missed services because of your stupid ass!"

"You still went," Ennis said which earned him another slap across the face.

"You get your ass on that horse and go straight home," his dad said. "I'll deal with you back at the house." He turned and marched back over to the truck. He looked back at Ennis. "Straight home!" He got into the truck and drove off.

Face stinging, Ennis climbed up onto Starbright, watching as the truck moved off out of sight. He turned the horse toward home, but then stopped and rode off in the other direction, toward town. He knew he was just making the matter worse by running off, but he couldn't go home right now. He couldn't go home with a good enough excuse about why he had skipped out all morning. He couldn't tell them about Alma and he sure as hell couldn't tell them everything about Jack. He just had to hope his mom would calm his dad down enough by the time Ennis felt ready to go home

Ennis didn't know where Jack was staying while he was in town, but he ran into the janitor in the school parking lot, who knew. Jack was staying at the hotel right outside of town. He thanked the janitor then left in that direction. When he made it to the hotel, he got off the horse and tied the lead to a fence post then headed inside. He started for the front desk to ask for Jack's room but then stopped when he heard Jack's voice. He turned to see Jack in the other room watching some western on TV.

"Everything okay?" Jack asked, excusing himself from the guys he was watching TV with then walked over to Ennis. "What're you doin' here?" As he got closer, his expression became worried. Ennis's face was obviously bruised. Jack gestured for Ennis to follow and they headed to Jack's room one floor up.

When they were in the room, Jack told Ennis to sit down then got some ice to put against the bruise. Ennis winced at the icy touch, but it lessened the sting. He held it there as Jack brought a chair over to sit down in front of him.

"What happened?" Jack asked and Ennis told him about the morning he just had. Jack looked angry about what Ennis's dad had done. Ennis just wanted it kept quiet since his dad would deny ever hitting him. "I can't just stand by and let this happen, Ennis."

"He doesn't know any other way to deal with things," Ennis said. "Not since my brother died." It was the first time he had brought up the subject with anyone. His parents wouldn't even talk about it.

"What happened with your brother?"

"It was a little over a year ago now," Ennis said, thinking back to that storm that had blown in. "My dad and brother were out in the barn, securing everything for the comin' storm that would wash out all of our crops and take down half our barn... We were gonna have the barn fixed up the next week. The wind and rain did a number on it. A beam fell and crushed KE against the wall and the ground. If he wasn't killed by the beam, he drowned by the water floodin' in." Jack looked horrified by the story. Ennis had eventually become numb to it since it hadn't been much longer after that when his dad was a little more rough with him.

"He expects me to pick up where KE left off," Ennis went on. "I wasn't able to. Still not. I'm not my brother, but he can't see that. If I can't be who he wants me to be, I'm not worth it."

"Parents shouldn't make their kids think like that," Jack said. "And you shouldn't hafta let it happen."

"I gotta be a good boy."

"So you run away from home?"

"I can't tell 'em why I skipped out this mornin'," Ennis said. "They wouldn't understand."

"Maybe I can help," Jack said. He could probably guess that that was the reason why Ennis had come all the way out here. "Why'd you skip out this mornin'? Did something happen last night? With Alma?"

"She came onto me again," Ennis said. "I told her I wasn't interested in that right now." He lowered his hand when Jack took the pack of ice off to inspect Ennis's face. "She was okay with my reasoning. I was supposed to sit with her today at church, so she's probably no longer okay with it." He closed his eyes as Jack rubbed a finger across his face. The area was sore, but Jack's touch was soothing. "Her dad said he might take the horse back if I don't get friendly with Alma. After today... I don't expect to keep the horse. Even if he was a gift."

Ennis opened his eyes and jerked back in surprise when he felt Jack's lips against his cheek. Jack mumbled "it's okay," then proceeded to kiss where Ennis was bruised the most. Ennis closed his eyes once again, feeling his heart start to pound. He wasn't surprised when Jack's kisses moved to his lips and Ennis found himself kissing him back. He heard the ice pack drop to the floor as Jack leaned further off the chair and toward Ennis. But then Jack pulled away.

"We're in a safe place, Ennis," Jack whispered. He took Ennis's hands and placed them on his shoulders. "First lesson: explore where ya want to. Nothing you do is the wrong answer."

Ennis couldn't keep contact as he forced himself past his hesitation and moved his hands, feeling down the firm muscles of Jack's arms. Jack didn't guide his hand, letting Ennis establish what would be the most comfortable for him. Ennis was too afraid to touch anywhere else, but his hands practically had a mind of their own. His hands moved back up to Jack's shoulders then down along his chest. He said nothing and just watched as Jack unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it open, exposing his chest.

Ennis's fingers brushed against bare skin, a tad mesmerized by the softness of his skin and the firmness. He could feel Jack's heart pounding just as hard as his own. Ennis felt something in the pit of his stomach and then lower. His mouth was suddenly dry and he could feel himself becoming nauseous again, but something else was overcoming that feeling.

"Ennis," Jack murmured and Ennis's lips crashed against his in a heated kiss. Jack shrugged off his shirt as he got onto the bed, pulling Ennis down on top of him as he laid down. All they did was kiss for a few minutes then Jack took Ennis's hand and guided it down to the front of his jeans.

Ennis broke the kiss and sat up, scooting back until he was straddling Jack's knees. He unfastened Jack's jeans and Jack helped with getting them down a bit. Ennis was frozen at the sight of Jack's cock now right in front of him, pointing straight up. Ennis didn't know what to do, but when he wrapped his hand around Jack's shaft, it seemed like the right thing to do. Jack reached down and guided Ennis's hand to move the right way, stroking up and down. Ennis thought back to the one other time he had done something like this, except it had been to himself in front of the bathroom mirror. It was strange how doing it to someone else would give him the same feeling he had when he had jerked himself off.

"That feels good, Ennis," Jack said, letting Ennis take over. "Mmmm, so good, keep doin' it..." His words slowly turned into moans. Ennis felt a bit awkward sitting like that, stroking Jack but it was slowly turning into something he was enjoying. He shifted uncomfortably as his own jeans grew tighter around his own hardening member.

Jack picked up on that. Ennis's hand left Jack's cock as Jack rolled them over. Without a word, Jack moved down on him, relieving Ennis by pulling his jeans down to his knees. Jack freed himself of the rest of his clothes so he was now naked as he climbed on top of Ennis, their cocks brushing against each other.

"Just relax," Jack said, grabbing his cock and Ennis's in one hand, stroking them both at the same time. Ennis gripped the sheets beneath him tightly, a deep groan escaping him after a few minutes.

"Fuck," Ennis moaned as he came, feeling Jack finish as well. Ennis covered his face with his hands, embarrassed about what had just happened. He couldn't ignore the feeling of Jack's semen running down over his balls. Jack moved his hips slightly, grinding their cocks together. Ennis had shot a bigger load over Jack, he could feel it.

Then Jack climbed off of him. When Ennis lowered his hands, Jack was walking out of the bathroom with a wet rag. He cleaned Ennis then himself then got dressed. Ennis quickly got up, pulling his jeans back up. As he fastened his belt, he looked at Jack.

"You don't have to go home," Jack said. It was obvious that he had wanted to do so much more just then, but he had held off because he hadn't wanted to push Ennis too far. "If things are that bad at home -"

"It's fine," Ennis said. "But thanks." Jack nodded then just watched as Ennis left.