Date: Thu, 3 Jul 2014 18:58:13 -0600 From: Brian Subject: A differant Life 1 Disclaimer: This story is fiction. It deals with interaction between males including oral and anal. Any person under 18, or anyone living in a state or province where reading these stories is illegal should leave this site now. Adult gay content. A Different Life One: It was late June 1967. I had just returned from my parents Lawyer. Their will had left me everything, which wasn't much. I was eighteen; I had just graduated High School. I was registered at Georgetown in Washington to start my first year of University. My tuition, thank god, was paid for, for all four years. That was one thing I got from my parents estate. There wasn't much else. A heavily mortgaged house that I might see a few thousand from when it was sold. That house was full of good and bad memories, mostly bad and I really didn't want anything to do with it. I had already moved out and everything else was going to auction to pay off my parent's debt. Again I might gain a few bucks from that, but didn't have my hopes up. Even my parent's car was gone. It had been totaled in the accident that had claimed my parent's life. So except for my Uncle living someplace in Wyoming, I was pretty much on my own. My tuition at Georgetown included room and board, but nothing else, so I knew I need to work all summer. With no real skills, I called my Uncle Hank in Wyoming. I explained what happened and asked if he had something to do for the summer, explaining about my parents. He immediately invited me out. My Father and my Uncle had never got along. Even though brothers I had never been to Wyoming and had never met him. My Father had been a tyrannical despot as far as I was concerned. My Mother wasn't much better and I had had a very unhappy life growing up. It probably would have been worse if they had found out I was Gay. I was pretty sure I was Gay by about thirteen. Of course I never told anyone of my feelings. It scared me that I could be more attracted to guys than I ever was for girls. Made even harder in School with required showers after PT or any sports. Sometimes it was impossible to hide my hard on from the other boys in the showers. Lucky I wasn't the only one. At present, I was living with my best friend. I was pretty sure he was like me, but was so scared that if he wasn't and found out about me I'd be out of his life too. So I kept everything suppressed. My Uncle sent me train fare to get me out to him. I packed, said my good byes to Gerald and was off on my new adventure. You could only get so far by train and then I took a greyhound to Riverton, the closest town to his ranch. He met me at the bus stop and I almost laughed when I saw him. He was a real cowboy. Cowboy boots, over which were denim jeans I figured he poured himself into. Huge belt buckle and wide belt. A checkered shirt and big cowboy hat. He was older than my Dad and didn't look anything like him. His hand shake was firm and his hug after felt good. I'll be honest here. I had never even owned a pair of denim pants or boots like he had. I was dressed in slacks, with a dark blue button shirt. Thin belt and loafers. He laughed at my attire. "Well Jake it looks like we need to get you outfitted before we head for the ranch. Those clothes will just get destroyed in no time. Welcome to Wyoming son and I am glad you came." "Thank you Uncle Hank. I honestly don't know what I would have done if you had said no." "First off, forget the Uncle stuff. It is just Hank to you and everyone else. Second, I wish very much I could have seen you sooner, but I guess you know how your Dad and I felt about each other. He was always so fucking uptight, just because I never married. My interest has always been my Ranch." He grabbed my two bags and led me out to a pickup that had seen better days. "Looks like shit, but runs good." He chuckled. We drove to a General Store, a big General Store. Inside was everything from soup to nuts. "Hello Murray, this is my nephew Jake. Out fit him from the skin out, top to bottom." "Okay Hank. Come a long Jake. Good to meet you too." He led me to a warren of shelves piled high. He came out in a section of just clothing. "Take your shirt off Jake, I'll get you measured up. What size shoe do you wear?" "Ten and half wide." He acted like a regular tailor. Waist, chest, inseam, arm length etc. Then just walked pulled out jeans, shirts, boxer briefs, socks, t-shirts and last a pair of boots. "Better try everything Jake. Riding horses all day, you need to be comfortable." Fuck, I thought. I had never even seen a horse except in pictures and now I was going to have to ride one. Now I had never worn boxer briefs and have to admit they felt good. Everything else fit comfortably except I figured the jeans were too tight. The bulge of my dick showed pretty good. I felt pretty foolish when I walked out in the total outfit. "Damn you look better now Jake." Hank said. By the time we left the General Store, I had several pairs of jeans, a dozen pairs of boxer briefs, the same number of t-shirts and socks. The only thing not duplicated was the belt, hat and boots. He had been busy too and I was glad I was in pretty good shape muscle wise. I helped him load several flats of beer, bags of flour and salt. Vegetables, fruits, and sundry food stuffs. The back of the pickup was almost overflowing when we were done. He paid for it all from a wad of cash that I figured would chock a horse. He headed out the highway for about a mile, then turned onto a gravel road. He drove about three miles and stopped. He reached down below the seat and pulled up two beers, handed me one and popped the top of his can. Well when I Rome I thought and popped my can. "Okay Jake. My land starts about here. I own about 64,000 acres." A quick calculation in my head told me he owned about a thousand square miles. Holy fuck. "Now a bout half of that is in feed grains. I also graze cattle of Federal Land, that I pay for. Most of what you will be doing is part of the cattle end of my Ranch. I going to take it you have never been on a horse and will have to learn everything. I have a young Native; I'm going to team you with to learn the ropes. He's good and he's smart. His Dad has been working for me for almost 20 years. I'm sure you will get along with him fine. His name is Evan." "Okay." Hank took off down the gravel road. Steering wheel in one hand and the beer in the other. When I looked we were doing near 70 MPH. Pretty quick we slowed through a gate. Double H Ranch was across the top. The house he pulled up to was huge. All most before we stopped, several Native boys came out and started to unload the pick up. "This is my Nephew Jake. Put his stuff in the back bedroom." Two of the boys nodded to me and carried on. "Come on Jake. I'll show you around." I felt pretty conspicuous in my new clothes. Everyone else all looked worn. No one said anything as Hank introduced me to some of his hands. He showed me the corrals, barns and cook house. Two big bunk houses backed onto the big house. "During most of the year I have about 20 hands working here. Most are away tending fences and watching the cattle in the upper grazing Areas. The Farming part of this operation is handled mostly from the Wilson Place. I'll show you that at a later date. You won't have anything to do with it so isn't too important." "You probably going to notice right off that there are no women on the ranch. I don't like distractions and women are a distraction." "That's cool Hank. I've never had an interest in women anyway." When I said that he got a funny smile on his face. Did he know about me? I don't know how he would have found out, I never ever told anyone. "EVAN!" He yelled. I saw a head snap around. Then a guy about my age trotted over. "Yeah Boss." "Evan, this is my nephew Jake. He has never had anything to do with ranching. Has never been on a horse either. I want you to teach him everything. Jake this is Evan. He'll show you the ropes." "Hi Jake." He said as his hand shot out. I was in a daze. I shook his hand, but my mind was elsewhere. God he was unbelievable. My height and maybe a little lighter. Light tan complexion. High cheek bones and prominent nose. Black eyes and hair that he had pulled back into a pony tail. He had on a buckskin vest that was open showing a nice six pack abs. He also had on buckskin pants with soft mogasines rather than boots. The bulge in those buckskins almost made me cumm in my jeans. "You okay Jake." He asked. "Oh, sorry. My mind was elsewhere." I almost wilted when he smiled. "Well come on. We'll see what we can find for you to ride." He walked over to a corral and climbed through the fence. I just followed. About ten horses were inside the corral. As soon as he stood up three came toward us. "Relax Jake. These are all tame." A brown horse with white splotches walked right up to me and nuzzled my chest. "Damn. I never seen him do that before. That's Paint. Looks like you found your horse or should I say he found you. Pet his head and mane." When I did he just moved closer. Evan, grabbed a halter off the fence and showed me how to put it on. He then put one on another horse. He then had me lead the horse to one of the barns. He showed me how to change the halter for a bit. Then blanket and saddle Paint. After adjusting the Stirrups got me up on the horse. For the next hour I walked Paint around the corral. Evan showed me how to control the horse. When he figured I had it down pat, he whistled. Another horse trotted over to him. It was one he had put the Halter on. He just vaulted onto his back. "I ride Indian Style mostly unless we are on a long trip." Well I had been fine until he jumped on that horse. When he did that bulge at the front of his pants just pushed out more. My dick had mostly gone down, but seeing that it was now squished against the saddle. He just smiled again. WE walked to a gate and out it. He closed it behind us. He then headed across and open field. "If you are comfortable walking, just give him a little nudge with your heels." Well he went into a trot and my butt was continually hitting the saddle. "Relax Jake into the saddle. Ride, don't tense up." He taught me how to ride as kept going across this huge field. I could see trees in the distance. By the time we reached the trees, I was doing pretty good I thought. WE slowed to a walk as we entered the trees. "We got about three hours till supper, so I'll show you one of my favorite places." I followed him on a path through the forest. WE came out to a grassy area beside a fair sized lake of very calm water. He climbed down. I got off my horse and just looked. God this was really nice. I wondered how it would be for swimming. He was reading my thoughts. "It's damned cold, but after a hot day feels damned good too. There is a hot spring up at the far end, but no one comes here so I like it best. Just let go of the reins, Paint won't run off." When I did let go, Paint just moved off about 20 feet and started to graze. The other horse followed. "At night if we are out on an overnight, we hobble them so they don't run off, but otherwise they won't go far." He walked down to the lake and got a drink. I did the same. Then he wandered back and sat down. I sat beside him. No matter how I tried I couldn't keep my eyes off that bulge. "Jake can I ask you a personal question?" "Sure Evan. What's on your mind?" "Are you Gay?" Oh fuck, oh no. now what do I say? I stammered and he laughed. "Relax Jake. I know you have been looking at my crotch and to be honest I have been looking at yours and like what I see." He reached out and ran his hand over my crotch. "Feels nice too." My mind exploded. "I guess I sort of am. I just never did anything." I managed to get out. He stood up and pulled me up. Then moved close and kissed me. I almost fainted. The second kiss was better and I felt his tongue on my lips. I just opened my mouth. Fuck I was so close to cumming I had to stop. He seemed to know what my problem was. "Let's get comfortable." He reached out and started to unbutton my shirt. I just stood with my hands at my side. He unsnapped my belt and then unbuttoned my jeans. As he pulled the zipper down I started to shake. He stopped and stood closer. "Relax Jake. I won't rape you. I know what you need and I do too." With that he slid my jeans down. Well my cock shoved out the boxer briefs. "Nice Jake." He made no move to touch it. "You want to help me now?" He said. Well my hands were shaking as I undid his buckskin pants. He didn't have a zipper or buttons, just a long leather strip. I loosened the strip and then pulled down his pants. I ended up almost on my knees. The bulge in a G-string affair he wore was maybe six inches from my face. God, I had been dreaming of this since I was thirteen and now there was a cock just inches from my face. The aroma coming off that crotch was almost over powering. I just leaned into his crotch and inhaled. I leaned back. "Do what ever you want Jake." Evan said quietly. I knew what I wanted to do and I don't think all the horses in Wyoming could have held me back. I reached out and tugged down the leather G-string. His cock popped out. He was way bigger than I was and uncut. The head of his cock was just coming out of his foreskin. Almost a perfect heart shape with a big slit. A bead of liquid was just out of that slit. I leaned forward, opened my mouth and tried to take that whole cock into my mouth. I gagged immediately. "Easy Jake; Just take what you can handle. It takes time to get used to." I wrapped one hand around his cock while I sucked. God it felt so right. Smooth, hard and spongy all at the same time. Even the steady stream of precumm tasted like honey on my tongue. "Jake, I'm getting close. You need to decide pretty quick if you want it in your mouth." I sucked harder. He put a hand on the back of my head. "Get ready to swallow Jake. There's going to be lots." Well flood would have been a better word. His first shot made me gag and choke, but I did swallow, It never seemed to end and some squirted around my lips. He tasted salty, but with a nice sweet part too. When he stopped I licked all I missed. "I'll do that anytime you want Evan." "My Turn." He said as he pulled me up. Well he skinned own my boxer briefs in one motion and had my cock in his mouth instantly. He took me right to my pubes. That was all it took, I came instantly. What a rush feeling my stuff squirt into a hot mouth. He never missed a drop. He sat back and licked my cock clean before standing. Then we went into a lip lock. I tasted my cumm and I'm sure he tasted his. We stayed locked together for a long time. WE finally broke a part and laid on the grass. "That was your first time Jake?" "Yeah, but don't want it to be the last. I meant it. I'll suck you anytime." "Cool. How about right now? Turn around and start sucking my balls." When I turned around, he pushed me flat on my back and lowered his crotch down so I could suck his balls. They felt good too. I gently sucked and chewed them. "Fuck for your first time you do good. Now spread my ass and lick my hole." All I could smell when I was sucking his balls was sweat so I did as he said. I had never even dreamed of ever doing this to anyone. I did it for several minutes and he was moaning the whole time. He lifted up and pushed his now hard cock into my mouth. He then just dropped onto me. His cock was forced into my throat and I gagged instantly. "Relax your throat and try breathing through your nose Jake." Well I tried what he said and stopped chocking, but still gagged a lot. He rolled on to his side and put his hand on my head. Then he started to fuck my face with hard thrusts into my throat. "You'll get used to it quick. You are going to be sucking at least four or five times a day." It took him a while to cumm, but this time he held his cock in my throat and I had no choice but to swallow. When he done he just pulled and sat up. "A couple more times Jake and you'll be perfect." "What did you mean I would be blowing you four or five times a day?" "Simple really Jake. Hank put you in the back bedroom. I stay across the hall. You can suck me off every night and morning. He wants me to train you in everything, so I'll be with you all day. I'll find time to get you on your knees. Once you are used to my dick down your throat, we'll take a weekend and I'll take your other cherry. Simple Jake. Hank put me in charge of you so I'm going to anything I like and you are going to learn to enjoy it." "So I'm going to be your sex slave?" "Yeah. Does it bother you?" "No. I guess not. I take it you won't be sucking me anymore?" "Wrong white boy. I love a cock in my mouth and in my ass." "So when was your first time Evan?" That got as long laugh from him. "Before I tell you that, I'll explain a few other things. After I take your cherry and get you used to a cock in your ass, you will probably be doing all the other hands too, even Hank. Actually I'm sure Hank will before the end of the summer be screwing you. All the hands on this ranch are Gay including your Uncle Hank. That was why he put me in charge of you. I have the smallest cock of anyone including your Uncle." "Hank took my Cherry when I was sixteen. That time after he did me, I took seven other cocks as well. You'll be lucky coz he is your uncle. He's going to let me break you in before some of the other hands use you." Thinking about my Uncle making me suck his cock and then fucking me got me hard. It was not lost on Evan. "See, you are even interested. Jake, I can take your cherry now if you want. You will be hurting riding for a few days, but if I give it to you everyday a few times you will get used to it fast." I looked at Evan's cock. He was rock hard again. "Can I at least learn how to ride a horse before I learn to ride a cock?" "Sure." He laughed. Then I just went down on his cock again. He rolled on his side and started to suck mine. He started to fuck my mouth so I did the same thing. I noticed he gagged a few times too. We both got off about the same time and I licked him clean. We were both bathed in sweat. "Lets cool off before we dress." He said. Well his statement that it was cold was an under statement. I was in perhaps thirty seconds and my balls had shriveled to almost nothing and my dick looked like about 2 inches long. I noted his were the same. We let the sun dry us before dressing. We rode back to the ranch and put the horses to bed. When we entered the house Hank called Evan into his office. He had one of the house boys show me to my room. I was almost unpacked when Evan walked in. He walked over to what I thought was a small chest of drawers. He opened it and pulled two cold beers out. Handed me one and sat down. "You might as well sit down while I tell you what's happening in the next week." To begin with, tomorrow we make a supply run up to Line Shack number three. It's about ten miles up the valley. We'll stay a couple of night at the shack. Hank told me it would be a perfect time to take your cherry. He wants you available sooner rather than later." "You might as well know he said he's going to fuck you when we get back, weather you are ready or not. If you are not, you can be sure to be getting a half dozen of the hands too." "You see in two weeks he's having a big party at the ranch and you and I will be the main attraction. Your Uncle is loaded as far as money goes and has a lot of power in this State. Some of his friends like a boy to suck them off or bend over for them. That will be our job during his party." Saturday of the party will be for everyone. Sunday will be just for his special guests. That's the day we both will probably get fucked thirty or more times. We will be naked and in the party room all day." "Jesus, my Uncle's going to turn me into a boy hooker." "Look Jake. You can't take a chance of pissing off your Uncle. I pissed him off once. He took me down to the barn and whipped my ass about a hundred times. I couldn't ride horse for two weeks. So just go with the flow. You are only here for the summer. You can be sure you won't lack any money when you leave here." "Evan. I don't care what my Uncle does to me. If he wants to fuck me, he can do it now." "He won't until after I have done you." "Well we time for me to suck you off again before dinner?" "I wish but I'll be over all night tonight. You can sleep with my dick in your mouth is you want." I know I sucked Evan off at least twice during the night. When I blew him in the morning I didn't gag or choke on his cock once. After a hot shower and good breakfast we headed for the Line Shack with two pack horses. It took us nearly eight hours to get to the Shack. By then I was so sore I could hardly sit. I knew I was going to be more sore later. After unpacking the horses, Evan put 24 beers in the cold creek out front of the shack. Normally there wouldn't be any beer in the shack for the Linemen that stayed here, but he had brought them with us to have for the three days we would be here. Maybe they would dull the pain of having Evan's eight inch cock up my ass, but I doubted it. After dinner Evan loaded a rifle and put it outside by the door. When I looked at him He said. "WE get a few Black Bears or a mountain lion on occasion. The horses will let us know if one comes close." We sat and watched the sun sink behind the mountains. It cooled off real quick. We went inside and Evan built up the fire in the fireplace. He grabbed two beers and sat beside me on the big leather couch. We sat, neither of us talking for a while, just sipping beer and watching the fire. He finally turned to me. "Jake there i9s a couple of ways we can do this. One is slow and easy. I'll use my fingers first and then my dick. Problem is of course there is no way I can do anything either way without causing you a shit load of pain. The other way is just to ram it in your ass. Now your uncle did it slow and by the time he got to his cock I wished he had just raped me. Most of the pain is on your hole. It's made to be an exit, not an entrance and no matter what I do it will hurt more than you have ever felt in your life. Believe me Jake, I know." That shot down any illusions I had about not getting fucked. I had read lots about guys getting screwed and knew it had to be painful. Problem was did I want all the pain quick or slow? I reached out and pulled Evan's face close. "Evan, I really like you, maybe even love you. I don't know yet. I don't care how you do it, but I guess faster is better than slow. I have been dreaming of this since I was thirteen and even dreamed of a guy raping me. So if its rape okay. Just fuck me already. "Okay Babe." I pulled off my boots and socks. Then stood and undid my jeans and pushed them down. My cock was rock hard. Faster than I would say was normal I was standing in front of him nude. "Damn you really want this Jake." "Yeah Even I do. You say you are the smallest cock at the ranch. Well I guess I need it lots if my uncle is going to do me when we get back." "Well Hank's about 10 inches, but thick as a beer can." "Guess you better get started then." "Man a live. Give me time." He chuckled. Well he was undressed a lot faster than I was. I looked at that eight inch cock laying level from his hair of his pubes. "Jake I never raped a guy before. Your uncle told me to give you a choice, but he also said to make sure which ever way I go, tie you down and gag you. Otherwise those horses will be spooked and we'll end up walking back to the ranch." "On my knees or on my back?" I asked as I headed for the only bed in the shack. "Knees first time, but wait." He grabbed one of my dirty socks. "Open your mouth." He shoved the dirty sock in my mouth and used a strap to tie it in place. "Hands behind your back." I did and he tied my hands too. He then helped me to get on my knees on the bed. He gave me a pillow for my head. A few moments later I felt him climb on the bed. "This doesn't help, but I like to do it anyway." Then I felt his tongue on my hole. God it felt nice as he worked his tongue right on my hole. He stopped and a moment later I felt something cool on my butt and hole. "Going to try and get some lube inside Jake. It's going to hurt a bit." "Hurt a bit? Ha. It hurt a shit load as he used two fingers to lube the inside of my butt. "Jake when I start, push like you need to shit." I felt the head of his cock on my hole and did as he said. Didn't help as far as I was concerned. The pain of his cock forcing its way inside caused me to scream in my gag. It never stopped from then on. He was using my thighs as a hand hold to push his cock inside. I never in my life felt anything so painful. It was like a hot knife slicing into my guts. All I could do was scream as it continued. He finally stopped pushing. "Not bad Jake I got six inches inside you. Man are you hot inside." I could only groan. He stayed in position for a long time. The hurt inside my Ass slowly subsided to a dull ache. The pain on my hole was still like a burning. I guess he noticed something coz he pulled back. If I had thought it was over, I was very much mistaken. As soon as he reached my hole he went back in all the way. From then on he just slowly fucked me. Except for my entrance most of the pain disappeared. I guess I also relaxed a bit coz he speeded up. He stopped once and I felt his very hot load inside me. Then he continued. I felt a real sharp pain in my lower gut. "Fuck yeah Jake. You are getting it all now." He hammered away at my butt for at least another half hour before he stopped. I felt his load going into my ass. He slowly pulled out. Surprising to me, I now felt empty. He pulled me to a sitting position on the side of the bed. He removed the gag. He stepped closer, grabbed my head. "Suck me clean Jake." I looked at the soft cock in front of my face. It was covered in cumm and brown streaks of my shit. I shook my head. "Come on Jake. You might as well get used to it. You Uncle is going to expect the same thing. It ain't that bad and I'll do yours after you fuck me." I closed my eyes and sucked his cock clean. Before I could pull out he poised in my mouth. I tried to get off him. "Just swallow Jake. Another thing you need to get used too. It's mostly water anyway from all the beer." He then undid my hands. "How are you feeling Jake?" "If I said empty, would you believe me?" "Yeah I would. I felt the same way the first time. It does get better babe. Trust me on that." He got a towel for me to sit on by the fire. We sat and drank more beer. "When you want it again, just get me hard Jake. In fact for the next three days I'll do it anytime you want. You can even fuck me as many times as I fuck you." To my mind fucking Evan was something I was not sure I could do. I know I wanted him again, but I really didn't want to fuck him. "Would you be mad if I said I didn't want to fuck you Evan?" He leaned over and kissed me. "No Jake. I guess that means you are a bottom. Well I like it both ways, but it's cool if you are only a bottom." I kissed him and then pushed him back and dropped onto his cock. He didn't take long to get hard. Instead of heading for the bed, he pushed me down onto that real Bear rug by the fire. He lifted my legs to his shoulders, shuffled forward and rammed his dick into my hole. It was so quick and abrupt I hardly felt it. It still hurt somewhat, but not nearly like the first time. He hammered my hole for a long time before he blew. He collapsed over me. I could feel his cock go soft inside me and it left me with a wanting. God what was I becoming? I think I loved what he did already and never wanted him out of me. As went to slide out, I grabbed his thighs and held him inside. "As much as I would love to do that again Jake. I really need to rest." As he slid out I went down and sucked his cock clean. "You are learning white boy." He laughed, "A sex slave has got to keep his Master happy." I giggled. After another beer we curled up together on the bed and were both asleep instantly. In the morning, Evan shoved his cock into my mouth and pissed. I just swallowed. "Good boy Jake. There's an outhouse out back. You can go crap out all I gave you last night and piss. Then wash in the creek. You won't need clothes for the rest of our time here. Well boots are okay. Will make it easy to fuck you anytime I want." "Okay Evan." I headed out to the out house. By the time I got back inside in just boots, Even had breakfast on the table. We ate in silence. After cleaning up we went and checked the horses. Paint walked right up to me and licked my cock. I jumped back as Evan laughed. "Boy he really likes you Jake." A fleeting thought crossed my mind. I wondered what horse cumm tasted like. We finished with the horses and headed back to the veranda at the shack. He grabbed me and forced me down over a table. Pulled down his G-string and hammered inside me. I screamed when he entered me, not using any lube it hurt like hell. He fucked me in fast strokes, finally cumming inside. He just pulled out. I turned and went to my knees sucking him clean. "You are learning boy." He walked to the creek and grabbed a half dozen beer. That was good it would sweeten his piss. This morning it was very salty and acidic. We sat in the sun. He handed me a beer and sat back. "Jake you have a lot to learn over the next three days. I'm going to explain everything. Getting screwed by me is the least of your worries. I didn't use any lube the last time coz no one will. Your Uncle will the first time, but never after that. Once he does you, you will be available to any hand and some of them are even bigger than your Uncle. Most of the Native guys only want a blow job. Kevin the Foreman is probably the biggest and he expects you to bend over for him anytime he asks." "Hanks two house boys will suck you off, drink your piss or even lick your ass. All you need do is ask." "In reality, like me, you are just a receptacle for the hands or your Uncle and his friends. Don't ever refuse, that belt hurts worse than getting raped." When I thought about what he said I got hard. Evan laughed. TBC Comments Welcome. suddar40@shaw.ca