"Cullen, get up off the ground, you can't lie out here the rest of the day."

"I can't get up, my legs aren't working anymore, you are going to have to carry me."

"I can't carry you, you are going to have to get up and move. If you lay there too long your muscles are going to just hurt worse. You are probably dehydrated and you definantly need a shower."

"Where did everybody else go, did they all quit and go home because they realized this is insanity?"

"No Cullen, after they got done laughing at you for puking all over the place, the director released them for the day. We have homework and we still need to get chow. If you don't get up pretty soon, we are going to have to skip supper because it's going to be too late to eat."

"Help me up Jasper. I really don't think I can get up on my own."

"Cullen, you outweigh me by at least 80lbs, you will just pull me down."

"I can't mooove, Jasper! My whole body hurts! I have cramps in my legs and my head and stomach hurt soo bad."

"Ed, you probably have heat cramps. You really need to force yourself to get up and move. Come with me and I'll get you some water and I'll take care of you, but I am not going to carry you."

He rolled onto his side and began retching again, pulling up into the fetal position, and groaning in pain. The water we had brought with us for the afternoon PT session was long gone, and I would have to leave him to go get any more. The rest of the class had left us out on the field after casting more than a few disparaging comments about Cullen's lack of endurance. He had barely managed to make it through the calisthenics, and when the run started, he had begun in the front of the pack, but as it stretched into its second mile, he was dragging at the rear and often walking more than running. He knew nothing about pacing himself and the PT instructor had lead the rest of us through a punishment round of mountain climbers while we waited for Cullen to catch up with the rest of the squad. Once he had arrived, he had been braced by the other Sheriffs cadets and given the choice of matching the punishment we had suffered, or taking a beat down.

I don't know why he didn't quit. Well into our second week of class and he was still dragging ass when it came to PT. I knew it was because he had been so deconditioned compared to the rest of the class and he was trying to catch up, but the other cadets were relentless. Every time we suffered for him slowing us down, they inflicted the same on him and often worse. It just seemed to make him more determined to stick it out and keep trying. I did respect him for that and for the fact his academic work was amazing. He had yet to make below an, "A" on anything, including policy and procedure as well as criminal law. It was weird that the same guys who drove him so hard in the physical aspects of the training and treated him like a punk kid, respected him and sought his advice in the academic areas and he gladly helped them.

He had been too tired after class to bother trying to collect his debt, in fact, some nights he had simply collapsed into his bunk with all his gear on and been snoring before I had even shut the lights off. Those nights I had ended up pulling his boots off of him and making sure he was at least comfortable so he would be fit to report the next morning, after all, I was responsible for him.

Looking down at him, he was a mess. He wasn't sweating anymore and that worried me. He was as red as he could be and when he retched, nothing had come out, it was just dry heaves. He was on his way to heat exhaustion and maybe heat stroke if I didn't get him out of the afternoon sun and into the cool as well as some fluids back in him.

Fuck. I leaned down and slapped his cheek lightly trying to get his attention, "Ed? Can you sit up for me?"

He didn't respond. He just laid there on his side, looking miserable. I had no idea how I was going to pick him up. He was much larger than me and dead weight at this point in the game, but if I left him, he could end up in the hospital in worse shape. I grabbed his wrist and heaved him into sitting position, and then I leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Ed, if you get up and let me get you back to the dorm, I will settle up with you on that bet."

His eyes snapped open and he stared at me in surprise. "Really?"

His voice was weak and barely above a whisper, but the excitement in it was palpable.

"Yeah, you perv, I will pay up once I get you into the shower and get you cooled down a little. Your body temperature is too high right now and you are dehydrated. We need to get you out of the sun, so you need to help me get you there, okay?"

He swallowed, blinked, and gave me a weak grin that was classic Cullen, "Cool! Shower sex is the best!" as he began trying to clamber to his feet.

It was a long journey back to the dorm with him half hanging on me, half stumbling all over the place as we walked back. He didn't say two words, but he stopped to retch a few more times and groan, but when it looked like he was going to stop and sink back to the ground, I ran my hand over his crotch, shocking both him and me.

We didn't even bother to stop at the front doors to kick off shoes to get rid of any sand; I got him through the doors and into the cool of the commons area as the RA behind the desk looked at us like we were refugees from some battle.

"Rough day at PT again, Whitlock?"

"Yeah, he's a little worse off than last time, but I think I have it handled."

"Okay, just yell if you need any help with him, you look like an ant trying to move a sandwich on your own."

"Ha Ha! Real funny."

"Just calling it as I see it, Jay, Just calling it as I see it. I'm outta here for the evening in about 10, so try not to kill in before then, okay?"

"Not a problem, Mike, have a good evening."

Cullen was leaning heavily on me at that point, glaring balefully at the RA and I was afraid he was going to say something if I didn't get him on down the hall to our room, so I got him turned and moving before he could gather his thoughts.

Once I got him in the room, he slumped heavily on his bunk and moaned as I quickly got a Gatorade from our fridge and mixed it with some room temperature water so that it wasn't freezing cold. "Ed, you need to sip some of this to get fluid back in you. Don't gulp it, sip it and swish it around in your mouth."

As he slowly started working on that, I started gathering up our shower gear and getting him ready to head to the shower room. Being it was Friday; the dorm was mostly deserted as many of the civilian students went out on the town or home to family for the weekend, leaving us with relative peace and quiet.

"Come on, Ed. You need to get up again and let's get to the shower room. Bring your drink, okay? You need to keep drinking that."

He slowly regained his feet and slumped after me as I headed to the shower room. I wasn't sure if he remembered what I had promised him until we reached the shower room door and he said, "Shower sex is the best" as he chuckled softly in my ear.

I shuddered as his breath raised goose bumps all over me, and sighing resignedly, I started the water in the stall, setting it to tepid so he would be able to cool down without shocking his system.

"C'mon Ed, let's get you under the water so you can cool off a little before we go worrying about that, okay?"

"Suure…whatever, but you promised!" I helped him pull his clothes off and then guided him under the water where I made sure it was hitting the back of his neck and his head to cool him down the quickest. He sighed in relief and leaned against the low wall as I stepped back and went to the door of the shower room and locked it, ensuring that we wouldn't have any company to see what I was about to do because even though I wasn't sure I was gay, I was sure I was a man of my word.

"Alright Ed, how are you feeling?"

He raised his head up and looked at me wearily, but still with an attempt at a pervy grin so I knew he was doing better already.

"You are naked Jasper; you are naked and standing near me. Have I died and gone to heaven, because I think there may have been a mix up somewhere if that is the case."

"No, you aren't dead. I gave you my word and I guess I am going to keep it. How do you want me to do this?"

"You weren't just telling me what I wanted to hear to get me to walk? You really are going to pay the debt, Jasper?"

"Ed, I gave my word and my word is pretty much all I have, so I guess I am pretty much bound to do this for you."

"Oh wow…really?

"Come on, Ed! Don't make this anymore awkward for me than it already is, please? I'm about half ready to run for the hills, but I gave you my word, so I will do this for you."

"Jasper, if you trust me, it can be for you too. I promise you will like it just as much as I will."

"I don't know, Ed, I just…"

He reached out and grabbed my hand and pulled me to him gently, running his hand over my cheek and down my jaw until he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and angled my face so I had to look up at him.

"Trust me."

I couldn't do anything at that point except nod at him. I was tense and nervous, and determined all at once, and I honestly didn't know what I wanted or what I was expecting him to do, but when he tilted my chin up and bent down and kissed me, my brain shut down and my body took over.

He didn't take the kiss too deep, but it was enough to set every nerve ending in my body on fire and leave me gasping as he reached over and turned the water to warmer and pulled me under it with him.

'I'm going to touch you first Jasper, just relax and enjoy it."

The sound of his voice rumbling in my ear distracted me from the soft yet persistent touches that he had continued to trail up and down my side as he had been kissing me had served to make me as harder than I had ever been in my life. My head felt too heavy on my neck and before I realized it, my head was resting on his chest as he continued to slowly stroke up and down my sides and then interlacing his fingers with mine, he took the soap and coated our hands and then gently and slowly he closed our hands around my hard and twitching cock.

The sound that came out of me seemed to come from my soul, and I almost forgot to breathe as he gently stroked up and down, guided by my hand. He took my other hand and guided it to his erect dick and for the first time in my life, I touched another man.

He groaned lowly and for a moment the movement of his hand on me, stopped, but then he started back up in earnest, and soon my knees were shaking as I began to realize I was approaching orgasm.

I increased my ministrations on his cock, mimicking what he was doing to me, and as I heard him begin to grunt and felt him thrust into my hand, I knew he was getting close. He pulled me tighter to him and began thrusting against me as we both approached our peak, and then with mutual grunts, exploded all over each other's hands and abdomens.

The wave of pleasure that washed through along with the emotion that washed through me, caused my knees to buckle and I nearly went to my knees, but to my surprise Cullen caught me and held me against him without and smart aleck comments.

"Thank you, Jasper. It's good to know one person in this world who keeps their word even when they don't want to."

"Ed, I will always keep my word, count on it."