Author's Note: Sorry I've been kinda ignoring this story. I've kinda been in a slump with writing anything lately. But I wanted to get back into the habit, so I decided to start with updating this one. I feel bad for going so long between updates. I have no excuse besides procrastination. If you're still interested in the story, let me know if you'd like to see scheduled updates and what day/days you'd prefer. I may not stick with the schedule, but at least it'd get me into gear with getting this story written.

Monday morning. New week and Ennis found he had an entirely new perspective on life. He and Alma had gone on their first date Sunday afternoon after church. They had gone horseback riding then had a picnic lunch. Just the two of them. And now that they were dating, Ennis no longer felt awkward around her. She was actually fun to be around. He had opened up a bit more around her, though parts of himself remained closed off. The parts that didn't entirely trust that she would try anything and the parts that only Jack saw. She seemed to pick up that he was hiding something, but since he got the same feeling from her, nothing was ever brought up. They had an unspoken understanding with each other. They were free to keep secrets from each other with no hard feelings.

Alma walked up to him in the hallway at school while he was on his way to his first class. She walked with him. "Ya hear about the field trip comin' up next week?" she asked as they walked. She took the risk and took his hand. She smiled when he let her. "Well, it's more like a campin' trip. There's this national park or somethin' up on Brokeback Mountain. Ever been there?"

"I don't go mountain climbin' that often," Ennis said. Even if he had never gone, he still knew where Brokeback Mountain was located. Everyone in town knew. "You know I don't get out much and when I do, I only go a few miles away from my house."

"Well, prepare to spend a few days away from your house," Alma said. Without coming out and saying it, she could pick up on his feelings about wanting to get away. He still felt that way even though he had already decided he was never going to leave. "And before you freak out, girls and boys are goin' on separate trips. Girls have Monday through Wednesday and the boys have Thursday through Saturday."

"I wasn't gonna freak out."

"Can't lie to me, Ennis," Alma said, a slight smirk on her face. She lowered her voice. "You gonna tell me you didn't just imagine me gettin' up in the middle of the night and sneakin' into your tent for some good ol' fun?"

Ennis cleared his throat, starting to feel uncomfortable, but she was only joking around. She gave him a kiss on the cheek which left his cheeks red and then she headed off to class. Ennis composed himself then went to his own class.

Jack placed a basket on his desk, making sure he had the entire class' attention. "Since I'm teachin' a sex ed class, it was brought to my attention by your principal to start givin' out these," he said, tapping on the side of the basket. "Condoms. So I almost decided on takin' a few minutes to explain the use. But I'm sure y'all figure that out on your own." There were a few laughs around the class. Jack glanced over at Ennis, who was just looking down at his notebook like usual. Jack almost smiled. He knew Ennis wasn't paying attention in class because Jack usually filled him in on everything that was taught when he was helping on Saturdays. Jack was looking forward to showing Ennis how to use a condom. But all in good time.

Ennis was probably also not paying attention because he knew what was coming. Part of his job on Saturdays was that he knew upcoming lessons.

"Today I wanted to take it easy, let some of y'all ask questions or whatever," Jack said, walking around to stand in front of his desk. He sat down on the edge of the desk, appearing more relaxed to the students. "Anyone have a question?" He pointed to a student who raised his hand. "Randy."

"Is it right to have sex before marriage?" Randy asked. "Some of us go to church, some of us don't, but mama's all over always say the same thing." There were a few nods around the room, agreeing with Randy's statement about being taught by their mothers.

"There's no right or wrong answer to that," Jack replied. "It all just depends on your thoughts or reasons. Do you, yourself, think it's wrong to have sex before marriage? Ignoring what you've been taught. How do YOU feel about it, Randy?"

"Well, I thought it was wrong until I met someone," Randy said, shifting nervously in his seat. "She makes me feel things I've never felt before. So now I believe, as long as two people love each other, it don't really matter when they have sex."

"I'm not sayin' y'all should immediately jump into bed together," Jack said. "Taking that intimate step with someone is a big step. Ya gotta make sure you're both ready for that. Ready and committed." He glanced over at Ennis again. Ennis hesitated with whatever he was writing, but he still didn't look up. "Anybody else have a question?"

Another hand went up. "If sex is just for committed relationships, why does my mama just do it for fun with whoever she feels like?"

"My dad's the same way!" another student chimed in.

"People's thoughts and opinions are different from others," Jack said. "Maybe you should save that question for your mama later."

"Is it normal to be horny all the time?" another student asked.

"Can you fuck your cousin?" a different student asked.

Suddenly questions started coming without Jack calling on anyone. Almost all of the students were talking at once and the discussion was starting to drift away from education and was just entering discussions about porn. Jack tried to answer what he could until he was able to quiet everyone down.

"We're done with questions for the day," Jack said. "If you have more questions or thoughts, write it down and hand it in tomorrow." He gave a quiet sigh of relief when the bell rang. He walked around and sat down at his desk while the students filed out. Once they were all gone, he wasn't surprised to see that Ennis had stayed behind. "Somethin' on your mind, Ennis?"

Ennis grabbed his backpack and stood up from his desk, walking forward. "Next week there's a school campin' trip," he said. "It was announced this morning. With the way the schedule is, I won't be able to help ya out next Saturday."

"I know about the trip," Jack said. "It ain't mandatory, y'know. If you don't wanna go, you don't have to. Ya can still help out on Saturday."

"That's the thing..." Ennis said. "I want to go."

"Oh," Jack said. He had thought Ennis was the type that didn't get out much. Now here he was, wanting to go on a camping trip for a few days with people he barely talked to on a regular basis. "Well, that's fine. I'll put it down that you'll miss next Saturday so it won't go on your record."

"So you won't need help with anything next Saturday?"

Jack gave him a reassuring smile. "If I need anything, I know where to find ya," he said, wondering if Ennis knew what he meant. He knew where the school would be traveling to. Brokeback Mountain, only a couple hours drive from where they were right now. He hadn't been able to stop imagining Ennis out in the wild, more than likely alone in his tent. He could picture himself sneaking into Ennis's tent in the middle of the night, taking him into his arms. He had felt those strong arms on him already, so it was easy to imagine Ennis taking charge in his fantasy.

"Have fun on the trip," Jack said. He didn't say anything now, but he was going to find a way to be a chaperone on that trip. He already knew that three adults were required to go on that trip. He would just have to hope that no one else had volunteered or they would allow four adults to go.

Either way, he wasn't going to let Ennis spend three days up in the mountains without him.

Author's Note: I know this is kinda short, but I wanted the Brokeback trip to be all in one chapter. Keep an eye out for that. Hopefully I'll keep this updated in a timely fashion. :)