A SUMMER IN THE FARM PART II

Quick note:
This one’s deep in slow-burn territory: character-focused, subtle touches, and lingering tension. No big moves yet. That said, if you pay close attention, you might spot the quiet hint of where this is heading…"

LATE-NIGHT CRAVINGS AND WHISPERS IN THE CHILL

A few days went by after the dinner at The Corral Road Bar and the encounter with Mick. During those days, between Garrison’s country meals, Kyle and his friends spent time either just hanging out or doing more fun stuff, both often lasting late into the long summer evenings, which sometimes stretched into the early hours of the night.

All the day’s sounds had already faded away, and the night’s quietness had settled in, when Jeremy lay on his bed next to Mark’s, who seemed to have already fallen asleep. After a while, Jeremy’s phone screen lit up silently on the bedside table. He reached for it and saw a message from Kyle asking him to hang out in his room.

Jeremy slowly sat on his bed, stood up, and left. In socks, he walked down the corridor to Kyle’s half-open bedroom door. He gently pushed it open and quietly said, “Hey.”

Kyle whispered from his bed in the half-darkness, “Come in and close the door.”

Jeremy did so, and after a click from the bedside lamp, Kyle’s body was revealed in its soft light, taking up most of the mattress. Kyle, in plaid pajama pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt, tapped the bed, inviting his friend to sit next to him.

When Jeremy settled onto the mattress, Kyle lay back, took his hands behind his neck without bothering to pull down his T-shirt that had hiked up, and said, “So what’s up, Jam? Are you having fun here?”

Jeremy answered with a fleeting gaze on Kyle´s uncovered golden happy trail, “Yeah, I´m having a great time. And it´s nice to be here, in the country.”

Kyle softly chuckled, “I knew you´d love chill vibes here and the views; personally, I´m all about the hustle and bustle of Detroit, though.”

Jeremy suddenly stood up and hid behind the foot of the bed. Kyle raised his head, amused and curious.  

Then Jeremy popped out, mimicking Pennywise, “Here I am, Georgie!” He nailed the evil clown’s rumbling voice and mocking gestures perfectly.  

“I’m going on vacation to the Dead Sea. That’s my favorite beach. You know why, Georgie? Because there… everyone floats!”  

Kyle just turned over, burying his face in the pillow to stifle a guffaw that threatened to wake everyone else.

Jeremy sat next to Kyle, “It just popped into my head, and I just had to do it, haha.”

Kyle, still shaking with suppressed laughter, lifted his hand with his thumb up. When his laughter decreased to chuckles, he took the pillow off his face and said, “That was awesome, Jam, haha! So which one are you gonna play for Bertha and Alfred, C3PO or Pennywise?” His blue eyes sparkled teasingly at Jeremy, anticipating his uneasiness.

“Man!” Jeremy complained, “You know I only do this for you! It’s so embarrassing!”

Kyle chuckled with delightful abandon as he swayed side to side on his bed, “Haha. Oh, dude. There are only two things I enjoy as much as the great food here: pissing off Mark and getting you nervous!”

Jeremy gave a resigned smile, “Yeah, I can tell… the first day you worked out with Mark, you really gave him a hard time with all your pranks.”

Kyle, lying back on the mattress with his hands behind his head, shrugged.  

“No biggie, man. I got way bigger and stronger than him after just one year of lifting, and figured I’d have some fun messing with him. That’s all. You know he’s a hothead—and I love getting under his skin, haha!”

Jeremy reacted, accompanying Kyle´s laughter with a chuckle.

“Although, being real,” Kyle continued, “he’s way more model-type than me. Think about it, Jam—he’s got ripped muscles and all. He’d totally kill it in a commercial for some fancy cologne. And if there was a casting for a superhero movie like Spider-Man or Wolverine, they’d choose him over me.”

“Well,” Jeremy nodded, “that depends on the superhero we’re talking about.”  

“What do you mean?” Kyle asked, narrowing his eyes with curiosity and wearing a subtle smile, anticipating one of his friend’s rare but spot-on misstatements.  

Jeremy said, “Kyle, think of Thor.”  

“Thor’s body is like Spider-Man’s or Wolverine’s,” Kyle replied.  

Jeremy insisted, “Marvel’s Thor—but not the real Thor.”  

“The real Thor?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “Norse mythology describes Thor more like a powerlifter than a fitness model. Makes sense—he eats like a hundred people, and he’s the strongest, biggest god. So he’d look more like a powerlifter. Kind of like you—big muscles, all pumped up.”

At that moment, Kyle’s lips curled into a grin, and his electric blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. He suddenly stood and walked over to the mirror, eager to admire his reflection. With an impulsive yank, he pulled his T-shirt up to his chin. Turning side to side, he traced the curves of his massive pecs in the glass. Fueled by his alpha drive, he puffed out his chest and sucked in his stomach, trying to amplify his size—Jeremy’s words echoing in his mind.

Still holding the powerful pose, his shirt caught on the bulk of his chest, unable to fall back down by itself. Kyle turned his head with a broad smirk toward Jeremy, catching the admiration twinkling in his friend’s eyes. That look sealed it—his empowering feeling of virility and strength surged to the next level.

You like these gains, don’t you, Jam?” Kyle asked, shifting his gaze between Jeremy and his arms. He extended them straight forward to make his triceps bulge, then bent them in a slow, controlled flex to swell his biceps. No need to take off his long-sleeve T-shirt—the thick knots and bulging shapes of his guns showed clearly under the tight fabric.

Jeremy could only nod, speechless—caught off guard by Kyle’s confident smile as he showed off for him.

Kyle pulled his T-shirt down, flopped back onto the mattress, and said, “Jam, go to the kitchen and bring me a couple of muffins.”

“Hehe, really? You had a big dinner.”

Kyle rolled up his T-shirt and ran his hand all over his stomach, “I already have room for more, man.” A couple of thuds with a broad smirk followed up, “We gotta keep this 300 pounds of muscle and belly, right, Jam? Night snack time!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get it for you! Where are they?” he asked, standing up.  

Kyle answered in a low voice, “Bertha keeps them in a box on the cupboard above the juicer. Keep it down.”

Jeremy flashed a thumbs-up and headed out. After a minute, he came back with a transparent container full of assorted muffins and a bottle of milk.

Kyle smiled as Jeremy walked over and sat on the bed beside him.  

“Dude, I told you just a couple of muffins. And you even brought milk! Hehe.”  

Jeremy smiled back. “I just wanna make sure you don’t stay hungry.”

Kyle took a moment, sat on the edge of the bed next to Jeremy, grabbed the box, and said, “Jam, you don’t just know how to admire a big man—you also know how to take care of him! Haha.”  

Jeremy chuckled, watching attentively as Kyle untapped the container.

Kyle held one of the cakes at head level, “Check out what I´ve got here, dude!”, nodding at the muffin´s spongy texture that begged for a big bite, and its glistening surface that anticipated a luscious mouthful soaked up with generous butter.

He just shoveled the entire muffin into his mouth before Jeremy´s eyes popped open, who said with praise, “They´re tennis ball size, and you ate it up in one go!”

Kyle tilted his head toward his friend in approval, muffling, “So delicious, man!”  

Still munching on his current muffin, he grabbed the next one. “More!” he said, tearing off half of it. Kyle’s eyes widened. “Jam, this one’s got cream filling!”

Jeremy chuckled at Kyle’s excited enjoyment. “Hehe, I think you’re gonna eat them all, aren’t you?” 

Kyle only grunted, the sound rumbling in his throat, unable to pass his full mouth. He gestured for Jeremy to hand him the bottle of milk. Jeremy unscrewed the cap and passed it over. Kyle took a sip, kept chewing, and as soon as he made a bit of room in his mouth, he dove into the other half of the cream-filled muffin. He kept inhaling more and more, savoring the different flavors between long gulps of milk.  

Jeremy watched, eyes fixed on Kyle’s fleshy lips working in wide, circular motions as he chewed the soaked, heavy mouthfuls—like a cement mixer spinning at full load.

“God damn!” Kyle moaned, staring at the last one in the container. “I gobbled down the entire fucking box and the bottle, man!”

Hehe, you sure enjoyed them!”  

“Bertha makes them, dude,” Kyle said. “Give it a try.”  

Jeremy picked up the last one. “I just want a little bit,” he said, taking a small bite. “Yeah, it tastes so good!” He handed the muffin back to Kyle.  

Kyle popped it into his mouth and, chewing, said, “The best muffin you’ve ever had, right, Jam?”  

“Oh yeah.”  

“And are you really gonna deny Bertha your great impersonations after she’s the one who made us this fantastic food?” Kyle added, amusement frolicking in his eyes.

Jeremy’s joyful face suddenly shifted to a worried one. He glanced away nervously, fiddling with a strand of hair at his temple, uneasy at the thought that Kyle might mention his great impersonations in front of the farmers—and the likelihood they’d insist he perform. He would feel genuinely obliged because of Bertha’s fantastic food; he didn’t want her to feel unappreciated after putting so much love into what she made. But the idea of performing in front of people clashed with his deep shyness, and that inner conflict stirred a nervous tension in him.

Kyle, watching him and sensing his friend’s care and apprehension, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter with puffed-up cheeks, scrunching up his face to keep from spitting out his last mouthful. He took a moment to gulp it down, then leaned back against the wall, still on the bed, his feet no longer touching the floor. 

As his final laugh faded, Kyle gestured for Jeremy to sit beside him and wrapped a muscular arm around his friend’s narrow shoulders. “Oh, Jam! I swear, I’ll never get tired of making you nervous”.

Jeremy just shrugged with a small, submissive smile while scratching his head. Kyle chuckled and gently patted his friend’s shoulder. “Another thing that cracks me up is how literal you can be. Like back at El Corral—when you said you’d rather buy me a suit jacket than pay for my dinner.”

Jeremy answered, “Oh, you mean when I looked kind of feeling bad after you said it was because I didn’t like you as a country boy?”

Kyle nodded and said, “Sometimes I swear it almost feels like you do it on purpose just to make me laugh my ass off, hehe.”

Jeremy looked down and briefly twirled his fingers through his hair. Then he looked back at Kyle and murmured, “It’s funny… that time, I did know you were joking. But I still couldn’t stand the thought of you thinking I might despise you—even if you were just pretending.”

Kyle just remained silent as his eyes rested on Jeremy’s face. It might be the drowsy feeling from the late night, maybe the soothing satisfaction from his recent muffin snack, or both at the same time. However, one might think Kyle was gently caressing Jeremy’s soft facial lines and sweet features with his gaze, in perfect harmony with the purity and tenderness of his personality. His friend, unable to hold Kyle’s gaze, looked down with an almost imperceptible chuckle. Then, Kyle, moved by a protective instinct, gently squeezed Jeremy against his side, as if his friend were made of crystal. 'Jam, I know you’d never despise me for anything like that."

“Never,” Jeremy murmured. “And I missed your jokes so much, even if you enjoy making me nervous.”

“But you weren’t alone. You made friends through me in Detroit before I moved here,” Kyle said, trying to sound comforting.

“You already know that to me, it’s not the same if you’re not there.” There was a hint of sadness in Jeremy’s low voice as he kept looking down.

Kyle patted Jeremy thoughtfully, reflecting on his unique nature—imaginative and funny when they were together, dull and taciturn with others when apart. “Well, Jam, we’re already together. And it’s okay… if I’m the only one who always gets your best version, you make me feel very special, very lucky.”

An ‘I wanna be always with you’ drowned in Jeremy´s heart, and, at the touch of  Kyle's hand on his hair, Jeremy cuddled his head into his friend´s strong chest as Kyle rested his cheek on Jeremy´s forehead. Both friends stayed silent in the warm light of the bedside lamp. They spent some time like this, and the only sound that could be heard was the chirps of the crickets from the farm's surroundings and, from time to time, dog barks carrying through the night air as they called out to each other from different distances.

After a while, their interrupted conversation resumed. Jeremy whispered, ”And after summer, are you gonna come back to Detroit?”

Kyle, still with his cheek resting on Jeremy´s forehead, replied, “I think so, Jam. But I don´t think I´ll stay for long.”

Jeremy didn´t dare to speak to inquire anything, afraid that the nerves knotting his throat would give his heart away with a crack in his voice. Kyle, as if sensing his friend’s struggle, answered the question Jeremy didn´t ask.

“My parents and I didn’t talk for a whole year. But you know, I’m sick and tired of their contempt—always trying to impose college on me just for status. Most likely, I’ll make my life in another city. But this time, I’ll do my best so we can still hang out as often as possible. I promise you, Jam.”

Jeremy exhaled a weak sigh, releasing the breath he’d been holding while Kyle spoke. Then he answered, “It’s okay, Kyle. I know perfectly well what you’ve been through.”

“You know better than anyone.”

Jeremy recalled Kyle rushing out of his house, trying to hold back the tears welling in his eyes, his hand covering the reddened mark left by his father’s slap. And how Kyle’s suffering was caused more by Mr. Travers’ harsh words that came with the slap than by the hit itself. Then Jeremy said, “But you’re strong, Kyle. You always have been.”

Kyle´s lips moved as if to say something, but they just let out a weak sigh. Then, he whispered, “Jam, that day you were like an angel to me”.

Kyle felt Jeremy’s head cuddling a little tighter against his chest and caught a glimpse of his friend’s furrowed brow from the corner of his eye. Noticing Jeremy’s sympathetic grief, Kyle chose to turn his drama into a comedy. He lifted his face from Jeremy’s forehead and said, “What a shitty deal, huh, Jam?”

Jeremy looked with an air of confusion at Kyle and asked, “What do you mean?”

Kyle smiled and explained, “Well, while you only show your funny side when I´m around, I save my tears for you alone; you give me happiness, and I give you sadness. You´re gonna end up hating me, hehe.”

Jeremy felt the urge to shake his head. “No, no, never! I’ll nev—mmph!”  

At Jeremy’s sudden outburst, Kyle quickly tapped his mouth and whispered in a low but alarmed tone, “Fuck, Jam, keep it down! It’s late, and they’re sleeping! I was just kidding again, Haha.”

“Sorry,” Jeremy whispered this time. “I’ll never hate you for that. You can count on me for anything, anytime!”

Kyle shook his head with a mix of amusement and disbelief as Jeremy spoke. Then he pulled him into an affectionate hug, making his little friend almost disappear between his muscular arms and broad chest. “You did it again, haha. You’re hopeless, Jam—totally hopeless! Sometimes you just take things so literally, haha.” They chuckled together as Kyle held the hug for a moment. Then he added, “Jam, it’s late, and I’m sleepy. Let’s go to bed.”

When Kyle released his embrace on Jeremy, this one stood up and said, “Yeah, later!”

The mattress squeaked as Kyle lay back on it. “Where are you going, Jam?”

Jeremy was about to touch the doorknob when he turned around and met Kyle’s drowsy smile while patting the sheet's surface next to him.

Jeremy lip-smiled and walked over to the bed as Kyle followed him with his half-closed eyes. He lay down and said, “Kyle, you´re so big you take up nearly the whole mattress; I might fall off.”

Kyle chuckled softly. “Is that so? Then I gotta keep you from falling.”

Then, Jeremy felt Kyle’s muscular arm wrap around him, and the ease with which his big friend pulled him into his side with a powerful yet tender grip, as if he weighed just a few grams. Jeremy drifted into Kyle’s flow and cuddled his head on his large chest like a pillow

Kyle whispered, “There, Jam, fixed, hehe.”

Jeremy quietly lip-smiled in response.

Kyle reached out to turn off the lamp, briefly pressing Jeremy’s body gently against the mattress as he rolled toward the bedside table.

On a click, the room went dark, its surroundings fading into vague black silhouettes. In the cozy dimness and intimate quiet of the late midnight, Jeremy felt Kyle patting his shoulder—slowly, softly, but steadily. Then, Jeremy noticed Kyle’s chest rising higher and higher before descending in a long sigh of drowsy pleasure. “I’m kind of full from those muffins and the milk you fed me, mmm, hehe…”

Jeremy chuckled back and heard the back-and-forth rustling of Kyle´s hand sliding in slow circles all over the rough stubble of his belly at the rhythm of his soft moans. “That way, you´ll have more energy to lift tomorrow, Kyle.”

“You liked it when I lifted way more weight than Mark? When I crushed that shirt? Or when I showed off my muscles for you behind the farm?”

“I loved it, Kyle. I’d never get tired of watching your strongman feats, hehe.”

“So much more to come, Jam.”

They stopped whispering for a few seconds. Then Jeremy said, “But … there was another thing that I liked even more.” This time, his voice dropped to an almost imperceptible murmur.

“What is it?”

“Is it ok if I tell you?” Jeremy´s question floated in the darkness and, although barely audible above the buzz from the nocturnal insects around, Kyle perceived a hint of hesitation in it, as if his friend were afraid of overstepping boundaries.

Jeremy heard Kyle´s voice so close that he felt that his lips could graze his ear at any moment as Kyle parted them to speak, “What, Jam?” He asked with curiosity in a low, excited, breathy whisper, “Tell me.”

“Well, that other day at The Corral with that biker.”

“Yeah?” Kyle insisted.

Jeremy replied softly, but with a thrill in his voice, “When you went for the biggest beer after that huge dinner …  I loved Mick tried to embarrass you for your jeans being all opened, but you just slapped your stuffed belly, proud as ever, in front of everyone.”

“You caught on, huh? I wasn’t gonna let that dick mess with me.” Kyle’s voice, still whispering in the dark, carried a clear, rumbling charge of alpha confidence. “No one messes with me, Jam—especially not in front of you.”

“Yeah, but… what I’m trying to say is that… I love it when you show off your stuffed gut after eating at Garrison’s, all cocky. But what really blows me away is that you do it in front of anyone, anywhere. No one can shame you for it — a strongman’s gotta eat big to be one. You’re the ultimate he-man.”

Kyle let out a soft chuckle that revealed his flattered pride. “I feel like a real man after eating so much, man,” he murmured, his words melting into sleepy sounds. “All buff and blown up around. I’m so glad you agree, Jam. You’re gonna freak out when we meet Mick and his pals.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jeremy whispered, his head still resting on Kyle’s chest.

But Kyle didn´t speak back. Jeremy felt Kyle´s breath slow down, each exhale becoming quieter until they were completely silent and, after a while, totally inaudible. Jeremy never enjoyed that vague, brief space halfway between dream and waking as much as he did then, listening to Kyle´s heartbeat with an absolute sense of protection and safety.

***

“Noooo shiiiiiit!” Mark exclaimed, holding his hands to his head from the bedroom door, surprised at the sight of Kyle and Jeremy cuddled together on the mattress.

The two friends woke up; Kyle slowly lifted his head from the pillow, and Jeremy from his chest, both of them blinking heavily at the daylight filling the room.

To be continued.