(From last chapter): Tanner, on the other hand, put a rough hand around my waist and asked, "You ready?" Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I gave him a smile and whispered, "My life's in your hands, cowboy."
"You made a good choice." he said to me as we got into his truck.
"What have you got planned for me?" I asked curiously. The suspense was killing me.
"I cain't tell you or it'd ruin the surprise." he said. He put a strong arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. He smelt amazing. The sweat was gone from his body, and his bare shoulders were warm against my cheek. Tanner wasn't the kind to wear cologne. A lot of these country boys didn't bother. He let his natural masculine scent take the place of fragrances, and I was thankful. A lot of guys would find the natural `manly' smell to be repulsive, but I was enamored with it.
We had took off like we were going to his house, but he turned off onto another county road right before his road. We pulled into a pasture that wasn't being used and parked the truck. I got out and Tanner rummaged around his backseats for something, but I couldn't see what. I noticed he had left his truck's headlights on, and he had kicked on his offroading lights that shone from his grill. It illuminated the entire field just like the stadium lights had illuminated the football field.
"You ever shot a gun, Tyler?" Tanner asked from the other side of his truck.
"No, never." I asked.
"You wanna learn?" he asked me. I was excited.
"Hell yeah." I grinned so big I'm sure he could see my smile.
"Good! Knew there was a redneck side to you. The right to bear arms is somethin' all Americans should practice." he sounded more excited than I did.
"What are we going to shoot?" I asked him curiously.
"First I'm gonna start you off with somethin' small. This 9mm is a real good gun." he showed me the black handgun and I felt myself shaking. He must have noticed, `cause he said, "You scared babe? Don't worry, I'll be right here. I'll be right by you. C'mon, I'll show you how it works." he told me.
"See this here?" he pointed to a small, black button on the side of the gun. "If you push this in and look on the other side, you'll see a red part come out. Think of red' as fire'. It means safety is off and you can shoot the gun. Now I always keep this gun loaded and in my truck. So it's already loaded. OK, now put your hand around the handle, that's called the grip. Now clasp that hand with your free hand so you can hold the gun more steady like. Now I'm gonna pull back on the top of the gun to load a bullet into the firing chamber. Babe, quit shakin' so bad. It ain't gonna hurt you. Here." he got real close behind me and reached his arms around so he was holding the gun with me.
"See that hay bale over yonder? We're gonna fire at it. Keep still and aim carefully. We ain't that far away, it shouldn't be too hard to hit. Whatever you do, don't jerk once you fire. Keep your position. Fire when your ready, and don't count down; just do it."
I felt my heart pumping. I felt stupid; it was just a handgun, and Tanner was with me. But it was my first time shooting a gun, and I felt nervous having that much power in my hand. I pulled the trigger before I could psych myself out of doing it, and a loud bang echoed through the night sky.
"Knew you had it in ya." he grinned at me. "Everyone's got a little country in `em." he said. "Try it without me holding ya now."
I held the gun up again, this time less nervous, and carefully aimed my shot at the oversized target. I let a shot out and watched as it ripped into the hay bale. I felt like such a newbie, getting exhilarated over such an easy shot, but it was fun for me. The only guns I had ever shot had been in video games.
"You look like you're enjoyin' yourself." he said.
"Hey, don't make fun of me. I'm not used to this like you are." I smiled.
"Hey, I feel you. Don't worry. You even got a little tricep muscle popping up." he traced my arm with his finger.
"I know I'm little, I'm not worried. You, on the other hand.." I said, doing the same to his arm, which was at least twice as big.
"Well, you know what..?" he started, reaching out his hand to receive the gun from me and putting the safety on.
"What?" I asked, giving in to his game, whatever it was. He put the gun up and lifted me easily off the ground, then went and sat me on his tailgate. He remained standing, looking into my eyes.
"These muscles ain't somethin' you can get in a gym. I got farm boy strength." he grinned at me and took off his shirt.
"Look at you.. what are you, a go-go boy?" I joked.
"Go-go boy? Go-go boys just got the bodies, they don't got the strength and endurance of a country boy." he said with pride.
"Strength and endurance huh? Show me what you mean. I don't think I follow." I loved provoking him, `cause I knew he couldn't resist my coaxing.
"Think a go-go boy could do this?" he asked as he lifted me up once more, but this time he lifted me high in the air and held me there, then he brought me back down and kissed me on the mouth. "I could do this all night." he laughed as he kept lifting me up and down.
"Your arms aren't tired yet?" I asked, amazed.
"Babe, please don't insult me. You'll have to watch me do my chores around the ranch one morning. I could throw you across this pasture if I wanted. You ain't nothin' compared to the weight I've had to sling around in the past." he said.
"Hold on." he told me as he set me gently back down onto his tailgate. He went into his truck and turned off the lights, then came back out and extended a hand to me. "Come with me."
I took his hand and he lead us into the middle of the pasture, the moonlight guiding our way. We were far from his truck when he moved behind me and put his arms around my waist. He was taller than me, so my head fell against his chest. I could feel his solid pecs behind my head, forming a secure wall that wasn't going to tip over any time soon.
"The stars are beautiful." I said simply.
"Has anyone ever told you they make your eyes shine? Like you're an angel from some other world? `Cause that's how I see you. For me, you're a blessing." he whispered into my ear.
"You're too sweet to me, Tanner.. all I can say is that you've been a pillar of strength ever since I moved to Oklahoma. Thanks for being there for me. I'm sure I would've gotten my face pummeled into the ground if I weren't with you. I'd also be a hell of a lot lonelier." I put my hands on his, taking in the moment.
"Tyler, all I can say is if anyone ever lays a hand on you, you're gonna see me get really scary. And you'll never be alone again. I'm not usually mushy like this but you do somethin' to me. I needed a good guy to come tame me."
"Tanner, you're a crazy redneck. You're never gonna be tamed." I laughed.
"Hey now, them are fightin' words." he said softly before turning me around and gripping my hands. His rough, calloused hands easily dwarfed my soft ones. "You're goin' down for that one, city boy." he said to me with a smile.
Sure enough, he made me drop to the ground. Not hard, but he got me there. The grass was soft underneath me, and the ground was cool. I looked up and saw Tanner standing above me, his boots on either side of me. I could see his thick legs begging to be released from the confinement of his Wranglers.
"You better not hurt me." I said, half-jokingly.
"Listen here, Tyler from Conway. I ain't never gonna hurt you and you better don't forget that, you understand me?" that redneck accent reached my ears and my heart skipped in euphoria. He knew all the right words to say.
"Yes, sir." I smiled up at him from the ground. He crouched down and put his knees on either side of me, once again interlocking his hands with mine.
"Look, I'm holdin' you down. We're kinky now!" he said. I couldn't help but laugh at how playful he was. He was unpredictable. I tried to lift my hands in vain. The sad part was, I was trying as hard as I could and Tanner wasn't even flexing his arms. I couldn't get over how strong such a young guy could be.
He let go of my hands and rolled over so we were laying side by side on our backs.
"The stars really are beautiful." he said, gazing into the sky.
"Hey, Tanner..?" I asked, looking over at him.
"Yeah?" he answered, not taking his gaze away from the stars.
"Thanks for this. This is the happiest I've been in a while." I said.
"Tyler, you've given me a lot more than I thought I'd ever find here in Broken Bow. You don't need to thank me. I need to thank you. Look, I don't care that you ain't a country boy like me. I don't care that you ain't a bullrider like me. I don't care that I had to explain to you what team ropin' was. Naw, I don't care bout none of that." he turned his look to me. "What I care about is you're a guy who's into me like I'm into you. The attention you show me can't be replaced by anyone else. It just wouldn't be the same. I finally got someone I can care for. My only regret is that I didn't ask you out sooner. Thanks for sayin' yes'. C'mon, let's go back to my place. You can stay the night, and I'll give ya some deer jerky to try. I know you ain't never had that. But don't you dare start to walk, `cause I wanna see the way your eyes get big when you see me lift you off the ground. Like you're afraid you're gonna drop at any second. But look," he paused and flexed his bicep then made a fist with his other arm and punched his flexed muscle. There was a loud smacking noise but the peak on his bicep didn't budge. "Steady like a rock. C'mon." he picked me up off the ground with ease once more and carried me to his truck. He let me get in through the driver's side door and I sat in the middle while he fired up his Dodge and made way to his house.
His parents weren't home. It was only 11:00pm, so they were probably still out in Idabel drinking at the Big Rock Saloon where they always went on the weekends. Tanner went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, then grabbed a ziplock bag holding what looked like beef jerky.
"This stuff is a lot better than beef jerky, babe, but I gotta warn ya that it's pretty salty. Try some." he handed me a piece and it was amazing.
"You ain't never had homemade jerky, huh?" he asked as he removed the cap on his beer bottle and took a swig. I paused for a second to take in the moment. Here I was, standing by my redneck boyfriend, wearing only his boots and Wranglers while drinking on some beer. Call me strange, but I found that to be sexy.
"Babe?" he said. "You still with me?"
"Oh yeah, sorry. No, I've only ever had that Jack Link's stuff from the store. It was good, but not as good as what you just gave me." I smiled. He would've been blind not to notice how I had let my thoughts take over my attention span.
"C'mon, let's go into my room." I followed him into his room, which looked like you'd expect. He had a deer head hanging off the wall, which he had told me belonged to the first buck he'd ever hunted. Then his warm camo covers encompassed his entire king-sized bed, which we fell into together.
"I'm gonna take off my boots. Better hold your breath." he told me.
"Don't be stupid." I laughed as I stretched out my arms.
"My feet are tired from walkin' around in those boots since 5 this mornin'." he said casually.
"You want me to massage them, Tanner? You know I don't mind." I offered. I really didn't mind, and I actually think part of me enjoyed it.
"If you want." Tanner said, almost suggestively. I took off his socks for him and sat at the end of the bed, where his legs were sprawled out. His feet were extremely warm and somewhat sweaty as I took them into my smaller hands and gently worked them over. I had had a lot of experience doing this back in Conway for money on the side, so I was pretty good at it. Tanner laid back and closed his eyes and occasionally let out gasps of pleasure. I knew it felt good, especially when they were sore. His feet were tough and calloused like his hand, but they weren't gross. That's what I expected from a country boy, anyway. Didn't bother me any.
After about 30 minutes, he pulled his legs back and said, "Alright, your turn. Get on your stomach and put your head on my pillow." I did what he said and he got on top of me and began to massage my shoulders. There was a notable difference in the strength of his hands and the strength of mine. If Tanner had wanted, he could've grasped either of my shoulder bladers and literally ripped me in half. That's the kind of strength I perceived anyway as he easily worked out the kinks in my shoulders and back.
He similarly massaged me for about 30 minutes, finishing his beer throughout, and finally suggested we go to sleep. This was the first time I was going to stay at his house, so I was a bit anxious/nervous.
"Don't worry, the most I'm gonna do is hold you and maybe nibble on your ear. If you think I'm gonna make you do anything you ain't comfortable with, then you got the wrong man." he assured me.
He got out of bed and took off his jeans, swapping them for a pair of black, silk gym shorts while I stripped down to my briefs and took off my shirt. He hit the lights and crawled back into bed with me. I laid with my back against his chest as he put his arms around me. It was cool in his room, and his body heat felt great against my skin. He took my soft hands into his tough ones once more and pressed his nose up into my neck.
"Tonight was flawless." he whispered into my ear. I gave his hands a light squeeze to acknowledge the truth he had just said as I began to drift into the most calm and relaxing sleep I had ever experienced.