Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:10:13 -0500
From: Andrew Todd <atodd867@gmail.com>
Subject: Riding Lessons-Ace

This story explores the background of Ace before he meets up with the boys
of `Riding Lessons'. If you are offended by sexual relationships between
men, please do not proceed. I appreciate any feedback or constructive
criticism, please e-mail me at atodd867@gmail.com.

Ace:
A `Riding Lessons' Interlude

By

Andrew Todd


Adam `Ace' Evans could remember vividly the first time he realized his
daddy was going away.

His daddy, Sergeant Major Ernest Evans, had been deployed most of his early
life, but he was never really aware of his absence until he was about three
years old. His daddy had been home for a long stretch, almost six months,
and Adam had become used to him being there every day.

Then one day, his mommy and daddy took him to a hanger with a lot of other
families and his daddy hugged him and walked away. He didn't see his daddy
again for six months. To a three-year-old, six months might as well be a
millennium; to Adam his daddy had just disappeared. Then, six months later
he reappeared, a theme that would repeat itself continually all through
Adam's young life.

By the time he entered first grade, Adam had come to understand that his
daddy had an important job and that his time away was spent serving his
country. That didn't make the long absences any easier, but they started to
make sense.

On his first day of first grade he met Devon McDonald, whose daddy was also
in the army and also deployed. The two became fast friends and where one
was the other was never far behind.

It was Devon, who even at the age of seven had a sharp mind and almost
biting wit, that christened Adam `Ace'. When Adam introduced himself using
his full name `Adam Christian Evans', Devon immediately recognized that
Adam's initials spelled `Ace' and he started calling his new friend by this
moniker. Within days, everyone addressed Adam as `Ace'.

All through elementary school, Ace and Devon were inseparable. They were
polar opposites in looks and demeanor. Ace was tall for his age with light
brown hair and powder blue eyes. He was easygoing and a natural
peacemaker. Ace also had a natural ability to `read' people. He was
incredibly observant and a keen student of body language. This sixth sense
allowed him to avoid trouble in school as he always seemed to know who was
ready for it and he would often step in a diffuse the situation.

Devon was the smallest kid in their class. He had jet-black hair and
dark-green eyes. He was so pale some days he was almost opaque. Devon had a
short fuse, a furious temper and a sharp tongue that he used to defend
himself when those larger than him would attempt to berate him.

Many teachers and parents would note that the two boys were the embodiment
of chaos and order. No one understood the dynamics of their relationship,
everyone just accepted it.

The two boys were a unit from day one. Both were exceptionally smart and
were always the top two in their classes.

Both boys eschewed the team sports that most of their contemporaries
favored.

Devon avoided sports--team or solo, he was an artist. At a young age he
discovered comic books and began to emulate the drawings he saw there. As
he became older, he took more art classes and became very adept at both
drawing and painting.

Ace, trying to be like his father who had been born and raised on a New
Mexico ranch, began riding lessons at a local ranch when he was five. By
the time he was seven he was doing barrel races and pole bending at local
rodeos. Eventually, he would try to compete in calf roping, but he found
that the speed events were more to his liking.

Ace also excelled at martial arts. While he was always the peacemaker, he
was adept at several forms of martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. By the
time he was fourteen he was also proficient with small firearms and
knives. Ace absorbed all the training that was offered on and around the
base, but he truly felt that his knowledge was only for the defense of
himself and especially his friends. He was always easygoing and would try
his best to make peace without resorting to any violence, but he was more
than willing to use his skills to protect anyone in danger.

While Devon wasn't much for competing, through Ace he fell in love with
horses and began to take riding lessons soon after the two met.

The boys' favorite activity was to take long trail rides, just the two of
them. The owner of the ranch they rode at would let them grab two horses
and take off for parts unknown whenever the mood struck. They would spend
the whole day talking: commiserating about school, missing their dads and
how hard their moms were on them.

They would stop to rest at different spots and Devon would pull out his
ever-present sketch pad and do drawings of the local flora and fauna. His
favorite subject, though, was Ace. By the time the boys were twelve and
ready to enter junior high school, Devon had several sketch books full of
his drawings of Ace. You could trace the evolution of his skills as an
artist. He had always been good, but the quality of his drawings improved
dramatically over time.

As puberty took hold of the two friends, Devon began to realize that his
feelings for Ace went beyond friendship. He started a new sketch book that
he never shared with any of his teachers or friends. This book contained
pictures of his best friend that were enhanced by his vivid imagination.

For their thirteenth birthdays, which were only three days apart, the boys'
parents conspired to gift each boy with their own horse.

Both fathers were home on leave and took the boys to a local ranch to look
at horses. Devon's father was a city boy who knew nothing of horses, but he
realized that this was the one activity that kept Devon outdoors and
active, so he was willing to indulge his son. Ace's father, Sarge, had
grown up on a ranch in New Mexico and was well versed with horses, so he
took point in guiding and advising the boys.

Of course, both boys had been riding for many years at this point and were
excited at the prospect of finally having their own horses.

The ranch they went to bred and raised quarter horses, perfect for the
boys' trail rides and Ace's rodeo activities.

After looking over the available stock and `test driving' more than a few,
the boys each selected their new best friend.

Ace chose a coal-black gelding with a white blaze and four white socks. His
name was Bullet and when he teamed up with Ace in speed events he lived up
to his name. Bullet fit Ace perfectly; both were mellow and easygoing, but
always up for a challenge.

Devon left with a palomino mare named Jazz. Again the horse seemed to fit
the personality of the boy. Jazz was high-spirited and easy to spook but
after several days with Devon, she quickly became a one-boy horse. Though
she would occasionally tolerate Ace riding her, she would allow no one else
the liberty.

Once they had their own horses, the boys spent more and more time at the
ranch where they were boarded. Hardly a day went by that the two failed to
visit the ranch. Even if they didn't have time to ride, they would spend a
few minutes grooming or just hanging out with the horses. When their dads
were again deployed, the horses became their confidantes and secret
keepers.

While they spent the majority of their time together, as they entered their
teens they each found themselves seeking a bit of solitude and the horses
became their main escapes.

Shortly after their fourteenth birthdays a series of events rocked both
boys' worlds.

First, Ace's mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had been
complaining of a sore throat and related problems for a while, but wrote it
off as a cold. By the time she sought medical attention, things had
progressed to the point where when she finally met the oncologist he
informed her that she had stage-four cancer and was terminal. At best he
could offer her maybe a year.

Ace was beside himself. His mother had been the one constant in his life
and now he was going to lose her.

A few weeks after he learned of his mother's diagnosis, Ace learned that
his father was being transferred from Fort Bliss, Texas, the only home he
had ever known, to Fort Irvin, California. Sarge was transferring into a
training role and the new post would not require the long deployments that
his family had dealt with for years.

Ace was happy that his dad would be there to support him and his mother,
but it was like a gut shot to realize that not only was he going to lose
his mother, he would be leaving his home and Devon as well.

Devon was even more upset at the prospect of Ace leaving than Ace was. Ace
never had a problem making new friends--he was easygoing and
personable. But he never let anyone forget that Devon was his best
friend. Devon however was a hardwired loner. The only friends he had were
Ace and Jazz; the thought of losing either one was devastating to him.  In
the age of texting, Skype and facebook, the boys knew they could keep in
touch, but each had been such a physical presence in the other's life they
knew it wouldn't be the same.

As the date of Ace's move loomed closer, he and Devon spent more and more
time together. Two days before he was to move, Ace took Devon and the
horses on a long overnight trail ride. Devon was not as big a fan of
roughing it as Ace was but he wanted to spend every possible second with
his friend before the move.

Ace had borrowed a mule from the ranch they boarded at to haul their packs
and supplies into the desert.

The boys rode for the better part of the morning, stopping frequently to
give the horses a rest. By the time the sun was its hottest, the boys had
reached their destination--an isolated swimming hole that was their
favorite spot to camp and escape from the world.

Ace ran a line between two trees to tether the horses and hobbled the mule,
since he was the animal they didn't trust not to wander off.

Devon went to the small lake and filled the collapsible buckets they
carried with water for the horses, while Ace took the packs and supplies
off the mule.

Once the animals were fed and watered, the boys decided to take a swim
before building their camp.

Even though he had seen it a hundred times before, the sight of Ace
stripping down so the boys could skinny-dip sent all the blood in Devon's
body surging to one spot.

As if the mid-July Texas sun was not making him hot enough, the sight of
Ace standing there, his sun-kissed brown hair blowing in the light breeze,
his tight tanned muscles flexing and relaxing as he stripped, was making
Devon hot, bothered and excruciatingly hard.

"Are you coming?" Ace hollered over his shoulder as he ran to the water.

"I will be in a second," Devon mumbled to himself as he watched Ace's tight
white ass as Ace ran towards the lake.

"What?"

"I'll be there in a minute. I got a cramp in my calf."

"Ok. Just hurry up."

Devon stood there filling his head with every disgusting image he could
conjure up in an attempt to get his erection to go down. Finally, after
about five minutes of mental images of his grandmother belly dancing naked,
things were finally limp enough for Devon to strip and run into the lake.

He prayed the water was cold enough to keep things calm, but the water was
warm and the second he caught a glimpse of Ace's white bubble butt bobbing
along the top of the water he threw a bone he knew would never go down.
Ace swam around completely oblivious to his friend's dilemma. Devon stayed
away from Ace, not wanting to chance Ace noticing his raging hard-on. Devon
was so afraid of Ace knowing the effect he had on Devon. Devon knew that
Ace was a sweet-natured guy, but he lived in fear that if Ace found out
that he was in love with him, their friendship would be over. He couldn't
fathom a scenario where the most popular kid in school would want to be
friends with the little fag that was hopelessly in love with him.

Devon dropped down under the water so his face would be wet and Ace
wouldn't see the tears in his eyes if he swam over.

The stress Devon felt about Ace finding out about him and the despair he
felt over losing his best friend actually helped make his erection
wilt. Devon lay back in the water and just floated along trying not to
think of his best friend's imminent departure and the loneliness that would
follow.

Things below Devon's equator settled down just as Ace swam up to him.

"Hey, what are you doing all the way over here?" Ace asked.

"Uh, just chilling out," Devon answered. "It's so fuckin' hot! I thought
the water would cool me off, but it's like sitting in a cup of tea."

Ace laughed. "It's not that bad, though it is hot. What say we go back and
pitch the tent and get things set up?"

"Sure," Devon replied as he looked down. He finally had his dick under
control and he knew if he looked at Ace, especially getting out of the
water, it would be all over for him. "I'll race you back," Devon said as he
dove under the water in an attempt to get ashore and to his towel before
things grew too unruly.

Devon was on the shore with a towel wrapped around his waist before Ace
even exited the water.

The boys dried off and dressed and then set up their camp. Ace had a large
four-man tent that he had commandeered from his father. They set up the
tent and put their packs and sleeping bags in it.

Ace went to work building a fire pit, while he had Devon look for
firewood. Devon made several trips around the camp area; there was plenty
of dried wood that would burn fine for them. He stacked it up in an area
away from where the fire would be in case the wind picked up.

They didn't need a fire just yet. They had a quick lunch of sandwiches that
they had made before they left, along with some cokes.

Ace grabbed his fishing pole and walked down to the lake to try and catch
dinner.

Devon grabbed his ever-present pad and followed his friend; he laid out a
towel on the lakeshore and sat down and began to furiously sketch Ace while
he fished.

Devon would sketch things out page after page and then go back later and
finish the pictures from memory. He knew Ace so well, that he had no
problem completing the drawings from memory; in fact his `secret' pad was
filled with images of Ace that he had done completely from memory, or, in
some cases, fantasy.

They spent the afternoon--Ace fishing, Devon sketching; both yelling back
and forth. Neither spoke of Ace's imminent departure--there would be time
for that later; right now they wanted things to be the way they had always
been if only for a moment more.

When Ace had caught enough fish for dinner, he pulled out his knife and
cleaned them. He carried them back to the camp in one of their collapsible
buckets and started a fire. Devon stayed down by the lake furiously trying
to finish his sketches. When he had done as much as he could and the light
was starting to fail he walked to the camp.

After dinner, the boys sat around their fire talking and joking; after a
while they decided to turn in. Even though it was so warm during the day,
they knew it was going to get cold overnight. They always zipped their
sleeping bags together and huddled to keep warm.

They both stripped down to their underwear and slipped into the sleeping
bag. Having spent so much time in the fresh air, they both quickly fell
asleep.

Ace woke with a start. It was pitch black in the tent and he could hear the
horses outside as well as various birds and insects, but he was used to all
that, that wasn't what woke him up. What woke him up was the hand on his
crotch that did not belong to him.

Ace lay still; he listened to Devon breathing to try to determine if he was
awake or not. The hand had a tight grip on his hardening dick and was
starting to stroke him. The more it moved, the harder he got.

"Devon..." Ace whispered. The hand jerked away.

Ace rolled over and faced Devon.

Devon closed his eyes and hoped that Ace would think he was asleep, but Ace
knew him better than anyone.

"Devon," Ace whispered again. "I know you're awake."

Devon slowly opened his eyes.

"If you were gonna pretend you were asleep, then you shouldn't have yanked
your hand away when I said your name," Ace chuckled.

Devon started to tear up. "I'm sorry, Ace. I don't know why I did that. It
was wrong, I understand if you hate me."

"Hate you?" Ace asked. "Why would I hate you?"

"Cuz I'm..."

"Cuz you're gay?" Ace asked gently. Devon nodded. "Dev, I've known you were
different since the day we met. I knew you were gay before I knew what gay
was. And I know, or at least I think, you have a crush on me."

"You know?" Devon realized he should have known that Ace would know. Ace's
mother liked to call him `empathic'--he was always in tune with others'
feelings, especially his.

"Of course I know."

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Cuz I didn't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?"

"Devon, since I figured out about you, I've wished, prayed, hoped, and
tried to make myself like you. So we could be together."

"You wanted to be gay?"

"No, silly, I wanted to be with you. I wanted to be able to love you."

"You don't love me?" Devon's face fell.

"Of course, I love you. You're my best friend, the closest thing I have to
a brother. But I wanted to be able to love you like boyfriends do."

"But, you don't."

Ace shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I've tried and tried. I could lie to
you and tell you I was and then move, but that wouldn't be fair. I've never
lied to you and I'm not about to start now."

"I'm sorry..."

"Dev, stop apologizing; you can't help how you feel anymore than I can. You
love me and I love you, just in different ways," Ace said. "I just wish I
wasn't leaving. I worry about you."

Devon laughed. "You're moving to Cali, your mom's sick, you have to deal
with all that and you're worried about me?!"

"Yes, I'll always worry about you. I'm worried about what will happen to
you when I leave. I'm worried about no one looking out for you."

"I can take care of myself," Devon said indignantly.

"Your mouth was good for getting you out of trouble in elementary school,
but we're going into high school and a lot of those guys play for keeps,
especially around here."

"Well, they have to catch me first."

Ace laughed. "That's true." He knew that Devon was a fast little shit. If
he had been up for sports, he would have been a cross-country or track star
at school.

Devon inhaled sharply and exhaled. He grimaced as Ace watched him.

"What?" Ace asked.

"I'm gonna miss you, you big dummy," Devon sighed. "You're the only person
who `gets' me. You never judge me or give me grief; you just let me be me."

"That's cuz I love you, shithead," Ace laughed. "We just need to get
through high school--a few years--and then we'll find a college that we can
go to together."

"And I can get out of this backward ass state," Devon declared. "I can't
believe you, the cowboy, get to go to Cali and me, the artist, has to stay
here in the backwoods."

"You can always come to visit," Ace offered.

"I don't know," Devon responded. "It might be too hard."

"Why?"

"Ace, all joking aside, I really do love you. Probably since the first day
I met you all the way back in first grade. The last few years it's been
even worse. When I see you every day, I just dream about what I want to do
with you and have you do to me. Once you leave it will be hard, but I'll
deal with it; but if I was to visit you off and on it would make it even
harder for me. Unless I know you're always gonna be there, it's best if we
stick to e-mail and text for now."

Ace was silent for moment. Devon's words stung him. He loved Devon as much
as he could and he had really hoped and prayed that he was gay and could be
what Devon wanted, but he wasn't. The fact that Devon was hurting too much
and that he thought it would be better and easier to not even see Ace, made
Ace hurt even more.

Ace remained silent. He looked at Devon. He could see the pain in Devon's
green eyes. His heart ached for his friend. He had a thought. A `going
away' present. He knew it would help Devon. No one would ever know except
him and Devon--he thought he could do it. No, he knew he could do it if
only to give Devon a little happiness.

Devon had closed his eyes. Ace knew he wasn't sleeping, he was just
thinking as he often did.

Ace slid forward and put his arms around Devon. Since they always hugged
each other, Devon thought nothing of it and wrapped his arms around Ace.

Devon's eyes flew open when he felt Ace's lips on his.

Devon looked into Ace's deep blue eyes. He didn't know how to respond. This
was his fantasy come true. He knew that Ace was doing this only for him and
it made his heart soar. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth to allow
Ace's tongue entrance. The two boys lay in their embrace, each of their
tongues wrapped around the other's.

Ace moved his hands gently over Devon's back. They stopped on Devon's ass
and rubbed it gently.

Devon tentatively reached out and rubbed Ace's muscular chest. For a
fourteen-year-old, Ace was built. Devon shivered as his hands touched parts
of Ace he had only fantasized about. Devon pulled off of Ace's mouth and
moved his lips to Ace's neck. He kissed his way down Ace's neck to his
shoulders and then his chest. He ran his tongue over each of Ace's
nipples. Ace shivered as his large nipples hardened under Devon's tongue.

His nipples were not the only thing of Ace's that was getting harder. His
cock was so hard he thought it might split the skin. He was so hot.

Devon continued his tongue bath of Ace's chest. He swiped at Ace's navel
and stopped just above his goal. He slipped his thumbs under the waistband
of Ace's jockeys and gently, but swiftly slid them down Ace's firm legs.

While Devon was taking care of stripping him, Ace, who was sweltering at
this point, threw back the sleeping bag so that they both lay there
uncovered. There was very little light from the moon through the light
fabric of the tent, so the two were essentially `reading braille'.

Ace inhaled sharply as he felt Devon grip his turgid member. Devon had seen
Ace nude many times when they had skinny-dipped, but he had never seen him
hard. As he hefted Ace's penis in his hands, he knew his fantasies about
Ace's size were right on the mark. He stroked Ace's hard-on, slipping the
foreskin back and forth over the head.

"You keep that up and I won't last long," Ace gasped.

Devon grinned evilly in the moonlight. He was not going to lose what would
probably be his one opportunity to be with Ace. He slid a little further up
Ace's legs and engulfed Ace's cock in his mouth.

"Oh, my God!!" Ace exclaimed as feelings he had never experienced shot
through his lower extremities.

Devon went down on Ace like he was savoring his last meal. He licked and
sucked on Ace's throbbing member. Ace lasted longer than usual for a
fourteen-year-old virgin, but even he had his breaking point.

"Devon, I'm c-c-um-m-ing!!" he warned.

Devon kept sucking; he wanted to savor every moment of this experience. He
felt Ace's cock throb in his mouth as he shot spurt after spurt of hot
salty cum. Devon tried to swallow, but Ace's potent seed spilled out of the
corners of his mouth.

When Ace finally stopped shooting, Devon pulled off and wiped his mouth
with his fingers. He popped those cum-covered fingers into his mouth and
licked them clean.

Ace lay back with his eyes closed. "Oh, my God!!" he moaned. "That was..."

"It sure was." Devon giggled as he crawled back up Ace's body. He lay
across Ace's chest and kissed his friend fully on the lips. Ace returned
the kiss. He could taste his cum on Devon's lips. It disgusted and excited
him.

Ace rolled Devon over on his back. He reached down and pulled off Devon's
underwear. He licked his way down Devon's chest and stopped at Devon's
groin.

Ace took hold of Devon's hard cock. "Well," he sighed, "in for a penny..."

"Ace," Devon protested. "You don't have to...OH, MY FUCKING GOD!!" he
exclaimed as he felt Ace's hot mouth engulf his prick. "Oh, shit!!"

Ace sucked and licked at Devon's hard-on. Devon was too juiced to last
long.

"Ace, back off," Devon ordered.

Ace wasn't about to swallow Devon's juice, so he pulled off and jacked
Devon to orgasm. Devon came forcefully, but in nowhere near the volume Ace
did.

Ace grabbed a t-shirt and wiped the sticky mess off Devon's groin and his
hands.

Ace lay back on the sleeping bag and Devon cuddled up against him.

"Thanks, Ace," Devon sighed.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Ace laughed.

"Ace..."

"What?"

"Umm, there's one more thing we could..." Devon's voice trailed off.

Ace lay there thinking and then he realized what Devon wanted. "Dev, are
you sure? Isn't that gonna hurt you?"

"I don't know, but I want to try," Devon pleaded. "I've dreamed about this
for a long time...you taking my virginity...you making love to me..."

Ace cringed. He didn't want to say no to Devon--hell what fourteen-year-old
wanted to say no to sex at all--but he didn't want to hurt Devon physically
or emotionally. He was scared that what they had done was too much; having
actual sex with Devon could be a disaster. He lay there thinking about what
he should do, when Devon took matters into his own hands.

Devon took Ace's hand and placed it on his hardening cock. "Do you feel
that, Ace? That's what just thinking about you fucking me does to me." Ace
reflexively grabbed Devon's hard shaft. "Please..."  Ace knew it was
probably a mistake, but he pulled Devon to him and kissed him hard.

Devon grabbed Ace's hard pole and tried to think about what he could use
for lube. Obviously, he hadn't planned for this to happen this weekend or
he would have brought some of the KY he kept hidden in his dresser drawer.

Then it occurred to him that they had a first-aid kit in the tent. He
crawled over to the kit hoping the small jar was there. It was. He crawled
back to Ace.

"What are you doing?" Ace asked.

"Getting something," Devon answered as he dipped his fingers in the
Vaseline and rubbed it onto Ace's dick.

"Devon!!" Ace warned. "Do you know how hard it is to wash that shit off?"

"I know, but you're not exactly a peewee and if we don't use some kinda
lube, you're gonna tear me up."

Ace knew that was a fact. He just lay back and let Devon do what he wanted
to do. This was his final `gift' for his best friend.

Devon took two Vaseline-covered fingers and jammed them into his ass. He
wanted to get this show on the road before Ace changed his mind.

Devon straddled Ace's waist and held his friend's rock-hard cock between
his fingers. He held it straight up and lowered himself until he felt the
head knocking at his asshole. Devon took a deep breath...in his fantasies
Ace wasn't so big and his hole wasn't so tiny.

He wanted this more than anything he had ever wanted in his life. He took a
deep breath and pushed himself down onto Ace's cock.

He inhaled sharply as the head of Ace's cock penetrated him.

"Oh, shit..." Devon moaned. "You're so big."

Ace's mind was flying; he didn't want to hurt Devon, but if they went any
further he was scared his little head would be doing more thinking than his
big one.

"Devon, if it's too much we don't have to...Oh, FUCK!!!" he screamed as
Devon sat down hard and took all of Ace's cock into him.

"Don't move, please," Devon pleaded as he tried to adjust to the
invasion. "Give me a second."

Ace held his breath. If Devon moved so much as an inch, he knew he would
not be responsible for what happened.

A minute passed, and then two, Ace held his breath. Finally, Devon moved
his hips.  Ace grabbed hold of Devon's hips. "Devon, are you sure you wanna
do this?" he asked. "I'm barely holding on here and if we start this, I
don't know if I can stop."

In the moonlight, Ace saw Devon grinning at him as he lifted his hips and
then slammed himself down.

That was all it took to get Ace started. Within seconds the two boys were
moaning and writhing on the sleeping bag. Both were lost in their youthful
passions.

Devon moved his pelvis and rocked himself up and down on Ace. Ace for his
part was lost in the euphoria of the first-time experience. He thrust his
hips up to meet Devon. He pumped harder and harder until he felt his climax
building.

Ace reached up and grabbed Devon's cock. He tugged and stroked at Devon's
prick as he continued to drive his own into Devon's hot hole.

"Ace, stop!!" Devon cried. "I'm gonna cum!!"

"Me, too!!" Ace answered.

Devon painted Ace's chest and face with his sticky cum while Ace coated
Devon's intestines with his.

When they both started to come down from their climaxes Devon leaned
forward onto Ace and kissed him.

Ace's softening cock popped out of Devon's ass.

"Ugg...Devon this is gross..." Ace cried as Devon rubbed his sticky fluid
between their chests.

Devon laughed.

Ace pushed him off and dug around in his backpack for a towel.

He grabbed Devon's hand. "C'mon, we're gonna go clean off in the lake."

The boys washed off in the lake and then spent a while skinny-dipping in
the moonlight.

As they walked back to the tent, Devon looked over at the horses.

"Ace," he started. "Have you ever wanted to...Uhh...?"

"Now, what?" Ace laughed. "How can you be shy after what we just did?"

"I've had one other fantasy that we could take care of tonight."

"What else could we possibly do?"

Devon nodded towards the horses.

"Haven't you ever wanted to take a moonlight ride?"

"I've done that; so have you."

"But, not like this," he answered as he gestured to his and Ace's current
state.

"You want to ride...naked?!?!"

Devon nodded. "Double. We don't have to go far, but I bet it would feel
amazing."

Ace thought about it for a minute. "Sure, why not."

He ran to the tent and grabbed Bullet's bridle.

When he came back out, Devon was standing in front of the tent with
Bullet. Ace quickly pulled off Bullet's halter and slipped the bridle over
his head.

Since he was tall for his age, he never had a problem getting on bareback,
but he had to give Devon a boost first.

When Devon was astride, Ace swung up behind him. Devon took the reins and
kicked Bullet into an easy canter. The moon was bright and they were very
familiar with the area, so Devon let Bullet have his head.

The rocking motion of the horse's gait combined with the feeling of the
animal's fur rubbing against their bare skin had both boys rock hard in
minutes. Ace grabbed hold of Devon as Bullet's pace increased.

Devon could feel Ace's hard cock poking him in the back. He had an idea. He
slowly and gently pushed himself back into Ace. When he felt Ace's cock in
the cleft of his ass, he raised himself up slowly until he could feel the
head of Ace's cock poking at his asshole.

Ace realized what Devon was trying to do. Against his better judgment he
gave in and held his cock steady while Devon lowered himself onto it.

From this position, Ace's cock was hitting something inside Devon that was
driving him over the edge.

The motion of the horse and whatever Ace was hitting was making Devon
crazy. He moaned loudly as he shot his load all over Bullet's neck.

As Devon came his ass squeezed on Ace's cock bringing about his own orgasm.

Devon leaned back into Ace, whose cock was still firmly lodged in Devon's
ass.

Ace reached around and grabbed the reins and steered Bullet back to the
lake. He had the horse trot right into the lake and he and Devon slipped
off and into the water. They rinsed themselves and Bullet off and returned
to the tent and slept soundly the rest of the night.

Neither Ace nor Devon ever spoke to each other about that last camping
trip.

Ace left two days later for California. His mother passed away about two
months after they moved. Ace and Sarge flew back to Texas for the funeral
so she could be buried with her parents.

Ace returned to California the day after the funeral.

He and Devon kept in contact electronically over the next two years, but
Ace always felt that Devon was holding things back from him.

Ace adapted well to California. He found a ranch locally that rescued
abused and abandoned horses. They were looking for volunteers. Since it was
close to the base, Ace signed up as a volunteer and the owners let him
board Bullet there.

The owners of the ranch loved Ace and his way with the horses. After he had
been there a few months, he suggested that they use some of the more gentle
horses to offer beginner lessons for the kids from the base.

Ace knew firsthand how much of a pleasant distraction the horses and riding
could be when you were worrying about your parent coming back from a long
deployment.

The owners loved the idea and put Ace in charge of it. Soon, Ace was
spending every afternoon and most weekends at the ranch either giving
lessons, working with newly rescued horses or leading trail rides.

Being busy at the ranch and helping others, helped Ace to get through his
grief over his mother.

The day his father announced his retirement brought a lot of mixed emotions
to Ace. He was happy that his dad would be out of the military, because in
spite of the fact that Sarge had been stationed at the base for two years
and was not deployed, Ace always lived with the fear that he would get
shipped out again. He was happy to not have that worry any longer, but he
was sad that his dad's retirement meant they would be leaving the base and
probably moving away from the ranch he spent so much time at.

One day about a week after his dad announced his retirement, he came home
from the ranch to find his dad waiting for him at the kitchen table.

His dad told him that they were going on a little trip the next day to look
into a job he had been contacted about.

Ace lit up when his dad told him that the job he would be interviewing for
was on a ranch.