I was taking a walk along the lonely, dirt road when I decided to stop and take a rest. I closed my eyes for a moment when I heard a soft voice.
"Hey there, kid. You OK?" The voice asked.
I opened my eyes and saw two dusty, old cowboy boots in front of me. "Hm?" I looked up and saw the neighbor's son standing in front of me. "Did I fall asleep?" I mumbled and rubbed my eye.
He smiled. "You sure did. I was working and I saw you passed out over here. It worried me." He had a very kind voice.
"Oh... Well thanks for worrying about me. I just don't sleep well out here." I sighed and stood up then dusted off.
"Why not? It's so quiet and nice. Want me to walk you back to your house?" He asked.
"Sure I guess." I shrugged. "The quiet is the problem. I'm used to cars driving by and that helps me sleep." I adjusted my glasses.
"I can't stand all that noise. So are these your grandparents? I only see you come and visit them once in a while."
"Yep. I don't like to come out here a lot. There's nothing to do." I was kind of shocked that someone had actually been paying attention to me. I didn't have a lot of friends and it was really a shock when someone even remotely athletic even gave me a sideways glance and he was very athletic looking.
"Well you just don't know where to look. I have lots of fun out here." He smiled. "My name is Colton, by the way."
"I'm Macen. And you live here so you know what to do for fun. I only visit."
"Not true. I've had a boyfriend come visit that had lots of fun. And he was from the city too."
"A boyfriend?" I looked at him.
He blushed. "Um... Yeah... I'm gay... But don't say anything to your grandparents. They might tell my folks and I would get kicked out... So keep it to yourself..." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Um... OK." I said. It was really awkward now. I didn't mind gay kids. They got picked on just as much as I did. I just preferred that they didn't try to hit on me.
"Thanks." He smiled nervously.
We stopped at my grandparents' driveway. "Thanks again for waking me up and taking me home. I'll see you around." I waved.
"Hey how about tomorrow? I could show you all the fun things to do around here." He smiled.
"Alright. Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled back and went inside. I couldn't help but think about tomorrow.

"Hey, Macen." Colton walked up to my grandparents' porch.
"Oh, hi Colton." I smiled and waved. He had showed me around the country side a few weeks ago and I had come back to see him.
"How have you been? I missed you while you were gone." He smiled.
"I've been good. I missed you too. How have you been?" I asked.
He sat on the porch swing with me. "Good. Our horse had her baby a few days ago. It's a girl and she's the sweetest thing." He chuckled. His eyes always lit up when he talked about animals and he was so happy.
"When can I see her?" I smiled.
"Now, if you want."
"OK. Why not?" I said and he pulled me to his horse. He pulled me up behind him and I instinctively wrapped my arms around him.
"I won't let you fall." He smiled. The way he said it made me blush.
"OK..." He rode off towards his farm and we stopped in the barn. There was a tiny black horse lying in the hay. I smiled. "What a cutie..." I giggled.
"I know. She loves sugar right now. She'll lick it out of your hand if you pour a little in your hand." He got a bag of sugar and poured a little in his hand. The filly's ears perked up and she stood on her wobbly legs. He held his hand out to her and she started lapping up the sugar. "Good girl." He cooed, gently petting her with his other hand. "Do you want to try?" He asked.
"Sure." I nodded and got the sugar then poured a little in my hand. The mother watched us as we fed her baby sugar. I giggled. "It tickles."
"I know. She loves this." Colton chuckled and kissed the tiny horse's head.
The filly lay back down by her mom and we watched them, smiling. Colton suddenly, and very gently, kissed me. I gasped. "Wh-"
"I like you, Macen... I've liked you for a while... Ever since you first started coming to your grandparents' farm... I've tried to get you to notice me but you just noticed me a few weeks ago..." He blushed darkly.
"B-but I'm not gay!" I choked out.
"I'm sorry, Macen... Please don't tell... I won't talk to you or even look at you again but just please don't tell anyone..." He begged, tears rising in his eyes.
"I... Colton... I won't tell..." I whispered, staring at his dusty old cowboy boots. The same boots as when I first met him. "I have to go... Bye Colton." I looked up at his ashamed eyes and smiled slightly. "Will I see you tomorrow?" I asked.
He looked surprised. "Um... O-OK..." He nodded.
I sighed and went back to my grandparent's house. He had kissed me... He liked me... But I wasn't gay, was I? I lay in bed all night thinking about how I felt and about him.
The next day, I went to him and kissed him. “Don’t tell anyone… I don’t know if I’m gay or not but I like you too… I’ve never dated anyone before though…” I blushed.
He blushed too. “You do?” He asked.
“Yeah…” I whispered. “Do you still like me?”
“Yes. Can we go on a date tomorrow? I haven’t showed you the best part of being out here.” He smiled slightly.
“Ok. I’d love to go on a date.” I smiled too.

I was rushing around my room, trying to get ready. I couldn't find anything to wear for a date. I was so worried about everything. What if he didn't like what I was wearing? What if I wasn't dressed right for what we were doing?
I heard something and looked out my window. Colton was standing outside, smiling up at me.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"No! I don't know what to wear!" I squeaked.
"Wear anything you want. You'll look perfect." He blushed.
I blushed darkly and nodded. I finished getting ready then told my grandparents that I would be out late tonight and met Colton outside.
He blushed. "You look great." He smiled.
"Thanks." I smiled nervously. He pulled me up on his horse and we rode off to the fields. There was a picnic basket set out in the field.
"We're gonna have an old fashioned picnic and watch the fire flies. Does that sound fun?" He pulled me down from the horse and we sat on the picnic basket.
"That sounds amazing..." I blushed.
We talked and ate together until the fire flies started glowing. I could feel him staring at me as I watched the golden lights. He gently turned my face towards him and kissed me slowly. "I'm so happy to be with you..." He whispered.
His soft lips tasted like mint and chocolate and his skin smelled like sunshine and fresh grass. We kept kissing among the glowing fire flies and we curled up on the picnic blanket together and stared up at the moon.
"We should do this again..." I sighed happily.
"Yeah... I would love to..." He smiled.
I couldn't believe I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was strong, loving, sweet, and, not to mention, very sexy. If only I could tell someone... But my parents would hate me and disown me.

I visited Colton as much as I could and spent the whole summer with him. No one suspected a thing and Colton and I were happy.
He had a little sister, named Sophie, that absolutely loved me and we played together whenever I came over to his house.
I came over one day, while his parents were in town, and we watched Sophie and listened to music. We started dancing together to the slow, soft music and we kissed. His arms were around me in a warm embrace and we were swaying slowly and kissing until we heard a gasp and a thud.
"Mom!" Colton gasped. His mom had fainted. His dad came in and gasped too, first at his unconscious wife then at his gay son. "D-Dad!" Colton let go of me and I almost fell but he caught me quickly.
"Colton James! What are you doing?!" His dad was starting to change colors. He was green and started fading into red.
"I... I was only..."
"I can tolerate a lot of things but a faggot in my house isn’t one of them." His dad growled.
"D-Dad... We were only dancing..." Colton was clearly scared of his dad.
"Get out. And take that fag with you." He spat.
Colton stood there for a moment then grabbed my hand and pulled me away, but not before kissing me in front of his parents. "Oh God... What are we gonna do? Where am I gonna go?" He started crying.
I wrapped my arms around him. "We'll go somewhere quiet... Somewhere safe... And we can be together without a care in the world..." I whispered and kissed him softly. I had to get up on my tip-toes to kiss him and every time I did, my glasses fogged up.
"You're amazing..." He smiled. "When we leave, there's going to be no turning back... Only going forwards..."
"Lead the way then..." I whispered into his lips and smiled. He got his horse and we rode off into the fields for our new life together.

I was still living in the beautiful countryside after 6 years but I was without my cowboy. Colton and I had broken up a couple years ago because we just felt that we weren't ready to live together yet. He was out in the world for all I knew, happy and free. I missed him dearly and thought about him night and day. He never left my mind or my heart.
I was up late one night, reading, when I heard a window being opened very carefully.
I whimpered and quietly shut my book then tip-toed to the room. The door creaked open slowly and I held my book over my head, prepared to swing. The intruder slowly came out of the room and as soon as I saw him, I let the book fly.
"OW!" The intruder fell over, holding his head, screaming profanities. "WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT FOR?!" He looked up at me.
I screamed and fell to my knees in front of him. "COLTON! Y-You came home!" I cried.
"Hi! Didn't you get my letter?" He asked, holding his head.
"What letter?" I frowned.
"The one I sent saying I was coming back soon." He sighed.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't get a letter!" I ran and got him a bag of ice. "You scared me so bad... I thought someone was breaking in..." I whispered and helped him to a chair.
"Well I wanted to surprise you..." He blushed.
"Well you definitely accomplished that." I smiled.
"So after some soul-searching in some other states, I decided that I'm more than ready to be with you if you're ready." He whispered.
I kissed him slowly. "I'm definitely ready..." I snuggled up to him. "You were on my mind the whole time we were apart... I've missed you so much..." I almost started crying again.
"Were you alone here the whole time I was gone?" He asked.
"Well I did go to work. But yes, I was alone. It gave me lots of time to think though." I nuzzled his neck.
"Well I see that I had nothing to worry about. You handle yourself pretty well." He chuckled. “But I won’t go away like that again… I promise.”
"I'm sorry for hitting you... I really had no clue you were coming home..." I sighed happily.
"It's OK..." He yawned and we cuddled up together.
“I’m so happy that you came home… I missed my cowboy…” I smiled.
“I really missed you too… Why don’t we rest now? It’s pretty late…” He held me close and kissed me softly. I slept better than I had in 3 years.