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chapter 7
Craig
I startled awake in a sweat, breathing hard. My sheet was tangled around my ankles and a boner tented my loose boxer shorts. The shorts had been a gag gift from Sam—we did it every Christmas. This one had three horses on the back with hind quarters written across the butt. They were oddly appropriate; I’d been thinking about arse all night. My dreams had taken a turn for the weird lately and this time was no exception. Naked swims with the birthday girl would do that to any red-blooded man, especially one who’d had a hard-on for said lady since the moment he’d seen her. Her pale skin, glinting in the dappled sunlight dancing across the water had given me wood that I literally could have hammered nails with, but it wasn’t only her in my dream. I’d been touching Sam too. Holding him and kissing him. Spreading his cheeks and sinking into him while Ally let Sam taste her.
My cock throbbed; my balls drew up tight. It wouldn’t take more than a bit of pressure to set me off, but I couldn’t do it, not with the vision of Sam writhing beneath me so fresh in my memory. It was wrong. He wouldn’t appreciate it and I wasn’t that kind of bloke. I was not a poofter. Those kinds of blokes couldn’t handle it out here—that’s what they always said. Years of the other boys taunting the fem kid at boarding school, of hazing him when he didn’t act as uber masculine as the rest of us taught me that only the toughest survived. I could see why the gay kids at school enjoyed looking though—even as teenagers, some of the boys had been fine. The curve of their backs down to the elastic of their jock straps, which framed their arses like a damn picture, and the bulges in the grey trackies we all wore after footy matches were a sight not to forget. But looking and admiring didn’t make me a pansy-arsed poof. I mean, if I was to do it with anyone, it’d be Sam who I’d feel most comfortable with. Yeah, nah.
Flashes of the memory of our fifteen-year-old selves fumbling in the shed teased my consciousness and I hardened even more. No. It was Ally who’d got me ramped up. Not Sam. The swell of her small breasts, the peak of her dusky pink nipples and how beautiful they’d look with Sam’s lips wrapped around one. The heat of her pussy as I slid into it. Or watched Sam do the same.
I closed my fist around my iron-hard cock and fucked my hand, focussing on the beautiful woman we’d had in our arms. One stroke, two, and I was coming, my back arching off the bed as fireworks exploded behind my closed eyelids and my jizz coated my boxers. I sucked in a breath through my nose and choked out a muffled cry into my other fist as I kept moving my hand, my grip around my dick loosening as the aftershocks had me twitching.
Exhausted, I slumped back and blew out a breath rubbing my chest as the buzz flowed through my veins. I watched the fan spin lazily, slightly off centre, and the heavy curtains pushed all the way to my side of the room ruffle in the breeze coming in from the open window above Sam’s bed. My gaze shifted to him and I watched as he slept silently. He faced the opposite wall, his sheet up to his armpit as he hugged his pillow. It was good to see him sleeping peacefully like that. It hadn’t always been that way. Our last couple of years of school had been torture for him. Insomnia had plagued him and when he finally slept, he had nightmares. But since we’d arrived at Pearce Station, since we’d realized this place was home, he was sleeping better. Now it was me tossing and turning.
I must have drifted off again after I’d cleaned myself up because I blinked open my eyes to the crowing rooster and Sam already moving around in what we’d turned into the loungeroom. I stumbled out of bed and got dressed in my standard jeans and tee shirt, throwing a couple of changes of clothes into a backpack. Today I was heading into Roma, to supplement the mob with a couple of bulls from a breeder that Scottie’d had his eye on, and then we were checking out the auctions in town.
The four of us—Scottie, Ally, Jono and me—would make the nine-odd hour drive. I was sure Scottie was still testing Sam and me out, separating us so that he could see where each of our strengths lay. Scottie had left Sam in charge. Level-headed, fair Sam would make sure everything at the station ran smoothly while we were away. I didn’t have as much faith in myself this time around. I had no business being there with them. I didn’t know how to judge the pedigree of bulls, but maybe Scottie was planning on training me. Or maybe I was with them just to keep me out of Sam’s way.
“You right?” Sam asked as he slipped on his boots near the front door.
“Yeah.” I wiped my mouth after brushing my teeth and followed him out into the breaking dawn. The colours lighting the horizon would never get old. Seeing the sky turn from greys into such a vivid blue that somehow saturated the red and washed out the grey-greens of everything that managed to grow out here. The world was fresh and calm and so full of promise at daybreak. I wasn’t one of those city suckers who survived on caffeine and stress, but even I could appreciate the peace that dawn brought with it.
We meandered over to the main homestead, Jono joining us as we made our way around the veggie patch and down the long driveway, greeting each other with a “mornin’” and a smile.
Before we knew it, brekkie was done and we’d been driving for hours, each of us taking turns at the wheel towing the big cattle float. The two-lane tarmac road stretched out before me as I drove, straight for as far as the eye could see. The white lines flashed by as the kilometres to our destination fell away. It was easy to get hypnotized by those dashes on the road. It was the only thing that seemed to change. The vast desert landscape was filled with nothing but scrubby trees and patches of green grass. The red dirt peeking through gave us flashes of colour to catch our eye, as did the odd mob of roos clearing the highway in a single jump.
Wind buffeted the Landcruiser as the road train passed us. It was only a small one—three trailers attached to the rig—but it was enough to push the four-by-four and our trailer around. I held the wheel, keeping it steady as I rode the edge of the bitumen, giving the truckie as much room as I could. These highways were designed for heavy haulage, but the two lanes always seemed narrow when encountering them at over a hundred ks an hour.
Scottie and Jono sat in the back, reviewing paperwork. They’d read every detail of the two Charolais bulls the breeder was selling, deciding whether they would get one or both. I soon learned that Scottie had planned to drop a good fifty grand that day.
Ally looked over her shoulder and added a comment here and there, but mostly she was quiet next to me. It was comfortable between us. It had been ever since our swim. Ally suddenly seemed to let go of whatever it was she had on her mind and really became herself with us. We’d joked and splashed each other until we were laughing so hard we couldn’t breathe. Then Ally had walked straight out of the water, leaving Sam and I swallowing our tongues at the sway of her bare arse as she sashayed up the bank, stepping delicately over the sharp rocks and roots protruding from the dirt to get her towel. I’d wrapped my hand around my semi like a complete creeper, stroking myself as she moved. But I couldn’t help it. She got her revenge though. When I followed her out, I wished I’d been prepared enough to bring the swimmers she’d spoken of so I could hide my arousal. She hadn’t been looking, and neither was Sam—I’d checked him out just to see if I was alone in my predicament, and I definitely wasn’t—but I’d still been self-conscious as fuck. It’d been a relief to get the towel around my waist and be able to sit down, my knees bent and feet planted on the picnic rug just to hide the boner I was sporting.
Ally had stretched out and closed her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips as the warm summer air dried the droplets on her arms and shoulders and her hair. Sam had busied himself getting drinks sorted and I’d tried to think about the cattle. It hadn’t worked; I’d been reminded of the trip today. That got me thinking about cattle mating and before long, I was thinking about me mating. Even my daydreams were getting weird.
But unlike before that swim, where Ally seemed to hold back and self-censor what she would say or do when she was with us, she seemed to drop the shield she’d held. It was as if, in that one swim, we’d moved beyond tension to a level of comfort borne of an old friendship. It was exactly what Sam and I had agreed needed to happen between the three of us. We couldn’t let our dicks interfere with our job out here, or our friendship. We both knew that if one of us ended up with Ally long-term, the other would be destroyed. But after yesterday’s imaginings and last night’s dream I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.
If only there was a way that Sam and I could share her.
I huffed out a laugh at that. Ally was far too smart for that. She had far too much self-respect to ever allow herself to be a pawn between the two of us. Not that we’d ever do that to her, but still. There was no way Ally was the kind of girl who’d hook up with both of us either separately or together. There was even less of a chance of it happening more than once and both of us had agreed that once with her would never be enough.
*****
We were in Roma for two nights, the eighteen-hour-round trip too far to do in one day, on top of meeting with the breeder. We happened to be there on the same day as the horse auctions, so it was good timing, but also explained why the caravan park we were staying in was fully booked.
It was so different to what I was used to. Secret paths meandered through tropical gardens, hiding the accommodation among towering trees and lush foliage that would have been suited to a tropical island. It was like night and day to the station.
We each had our own cabin, tucked away in different parts of the park. They weren’t much more than a kitchenette, armchair, bed and bathroom, but they were bigger than what I was used to. In fact, I was kind of lost as I padded around the spacious room not having to watch out for Sam’s clothes lying on the floor.
I had a few hours before we were meeting for dinner, so I crashed. Last night’s interrupted sleep and the long drive had taken its toll. Exhausted, I stripped and climbed between the cool sheets. My head hit the pillow and next thing I knew my phone was ringing, startling me out of a deep sleep. Groggily, I reached for it, but it cut out, and I let my hand fall. It started again a second later and I groaned, fumbling to answer it. I grunted, “What?”
A chuckle. “Morning person I see. Tea’s in fifteen. We’re meeting at the pub we saw driving in. We’ll swing by and grab you in ten.”
“Uh ha. Yeah, okay.” I hung up without waiting for more and stumbled into the bathroom to splash water on my face. I felt like I’d been through the wringer. The shower suddenly seemed like a much better idea. Cranking up the hot water, I waited until it was steaming and stepped into the spray to wash away the day’s grime. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t linger. There was no way I’d make the boss wait for me. Even though I moved fast, I was still buttoning up my shirt as I saw them pull up and toot the horn.
The pub was old and comfortable, with a laid-back vibe and the yeasty smell of beer permeating the air. Low padded chairs and big tables meant we could spread out and I found myself sitting opposite Scottie. Menus were already on the table and I could see from a glance that it was typical pub food—schnitties, steak, pies, fish and chips, and spag bol. I’d barely looked over the menu when the waiter sidled up to the table, and I got a whiff of a classic cologne that made me take a second look. His black and white uniform looked like it was tailor-made for him, highlighting every bulge of muscle underneath the fabric. Freshly shaved, olive complexion, with dark hair styled to within an inch of its life, he had an exotic air that was complimented by his almost black eyes. It wasn’t like I was checking him out, but I could acknowledge that he owned the room.
“A rose among many thorns.” He had a slight accent from somewhere I hadn’t heard before. He lifted Ally’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “What can I get you…”
“Oh, ah—” Ally hesitated. She was flustered. Blushing, she coughed out a laugh, her free hand going to her chest. “Ally.”
