“Whatever you want to tell yourself,” he said. He ran a hand through his short dark hair, looking sheepish. “Look, I’m glad you stayed. If you’d left because of me, I would have felt terrible. And been shunned by everyone.” He held out his hand to me.
I stared at it. “It wasn’t only because of you.”
“I know. Still. We all like you, Jensen. Even me. I just have a weird way of showing you.”
I took his hand and shook it once, and then let go. Turning my back to him I pulled off the T-shirt I was wearing and put his white shirt on. When I’d finished, I turned around and tucked the tails into my jeans.
“Nice. Sets off your bedroom eyes.”
“Callum…” I groaned, rolling my eyes. When was he going to give up trying to seduce me?
“Kidding, kidding. Looks nice. Now let’s get going. They’ll be starting soon.”
*
The sun was covered by wispy clouds as we walked to the large arena near the main house where the weekend shows were held. The air was warm but not as humid as usual. Several people were already seated on the padded bleachers.
There were men and women, some persons of no obvious gender, and a wide range of ages. Some of them wore jeans and nice shirts, others were attired in fancier outfits. A few of the women looked as though they were attending a real horse show, with cocktail dresses and fancy hats. There were also several attendees in leather fetish gear.
“Wow,” I said.
“Yep. We have a packed house as usual,” Trey said, fixing his shirt collar. All eyes were on us as we made our way to a special viewing area at the side of the fence where folding chairs had been set up.
“Do they know who we are?” I said quietly.
“Oh yeah. They know we’re the off-duty ponyboys. They probably think you’re one. Anyway, they know we’re young, hot, and kinky as fuck. What’s not to stare at?”
“Good point,” I said.
Callum led me to where the other off-duty ponyboys, as well as Brian, Adrian and Liv stood at the nearside fence where we would have a good view of the proceedings.
I located Adam in his black tux, looking dashing and debonair, with young Connor beside him, similarly attired. I wondered if Noah’s trainer, Lorraine, would wear a sari or something more suitable for handling a beautiful ponyboy in the ring.
The clouds passed by and the sun shone high in the sky as the time approached when the show was scheduled to begin. A light breeze cooled the back of my neck and brought the scent of summer grasses to my nostrils. As I lifted my hat to brush the damp hair from my forehead, I saw the three trainers walk out of the indoor arena and approach Adam with their ponyboys.
Michael came first, leading Ben by reins attached to his bridle, decorated with a braid of blue tassels down his back instead of Noah’s gold. Michael wore a pair of white chinos with a black button-down shirt and a red bow tie, and clean black Blundstone boots. Next came Hiro leading Hunter who had red tassels down his back. Hiro wore black dress pants and a black button-down shirt with a vest but no tie. He had on dress shoes instead of boots.
Then Lorraine came in leading Noah by the reins. Lorraine, as always, looked stunning, in a black leather miniskirt split up the side, shiny black Doc Marten boots with red roses embroidered on them, and a lacy black blouse with drape sleeves. Her long black braid was coiled at the nape of her neck into a neat chignon. Her brown skin shone in the sun and the silver of the stud in her right nostril glinted. But not even her beauty could compete with Noah, who walked obediently behind her in his leather pony gear, proud as a peacock, almost preening. The normally shy and introverted man became something else as he marched proudly toward the outdoor arena.
A surge of pride filled me as well, for I had prepared him and knew what a kind and sweet man he was. At this moment I was so glad Luke had found me before I’d thrown all of this away in a state of fear and guilt.
Besides wearing the decorative leather attire, the ponyboys were bound in the habitual leather forearm cuffs, which made their chests puff out attractively.
Adam stepped into the arena while the trainers kept their charges at the gate. He lifted the red megaphone with BCR Ranch emblazoned on the side and spoke to the gathered groups.
“Welcome to the annual Canada Day weekend Pony Show at the Braided Crop Ranch! We are proud to present our highly talented and well-trained ponyboys for your viewing pleasure. Please, no photography of any kind during the show. Opportunities will be available later for paid photos with the ponyboy of your choosing. We also sell a variety of professional photos of our handsome and athletic livestock in our gift shop at the resort.”
“Now, may I present to you, Mr. Michael Doherty and his ponyboy, Bubbles. Bubbles hails from Toronto, Ontario, is twenty-seven years old, six feet, two inches tall and weighs 205 pounds. He’s a lot to handle, but Michael enjoys a challenge!”
I joined the others in clapping as Michael led Ben, aka Bubbles, around the ring to show off his accoutrements. Ben grinned and winked at the guests, nodding his head and shaking his tassels as he moved gracefully across the arena.
“Next, we have Mr. Hiro Sahndu with his ponyboy, Hurricane. Hurricane is from New York, New York, and is twenty-five years of age, six feet tall, and 198 pounds. I think you will agree Hurricane is a fine addition to our stables!”
Another round of applause greeted them as Hunter/Hurricane pranced into the ring, almost pulling Hiro off his feet before the small man jerked his reins and got him under control. The performance was all an act as Callum’s eye-roll indicated to Jensen. “They do this every time. It’s like Laurel and Hardy.”
But I wasn’t really listening. I watched, fascinated, as Adam introduced the remaining team.
“And finally, we have the stunning Ms. Lorraine Louis and her breathtaking ponyboy, Buttercup. Buttercup hails from Ottawa, Ontario, is twenty-one years old, five feet ten inches tall, and weighs 157 pounds. Buttercup is a veteran performer at the BCR and one of our most talented and enthusiastic ponyboys!”
