All about Jesse

Another short story. This one sat on my shelf for a long time, half finished. I really like the characters so I couldn't abandon it. When my muse showed me the path again, it finished itself. Sex, cross dressing, and a nice description of a bike ride I'd love to make. I hope you enjoy the quick read.

All standard warnings and caveats apply, and please remember to let me know what you think.

===

I had given my last fuck about anyone other than myself the day I walked in on my little brother buried balls deep in my wife Angela's snatch, both screaming in the throes of their passion.

Sure, I had been gone for a while, eight years in the army, the last six is a Ranger, multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, coming home on leave when I could; it was what the job called for, but I had always been faithful, and then to come home to this...

I guess it should have pissed me off. Maybe I should have thrown Ricky out the damned window or something, raged at Angela, instead, I just shut down emotionally, walked over to the dresser and grabbed the keys to my Harley from the jewelry box, leaving my wedding ring in its place.

I said something like "Don't let me interrupt.", picked up my duffle and just left.

The divorce was amicable. We sold the house, discovering that the craftsman bungalow on three-quarters of an acre was worth a literal fortune thanks to the new medical center t just a few miles away. I took my half and hit the road, not caring where I went, or what I did, because nobody else fucking cared, why should I? At 6' 3", 250 pounds with a buzz cut, a bad attitude, and a sleeve of tattoos up my arm, nobody messed with me either.

The roadhouse had probably been nice in its time, but maybe the interstate had passed it by, or the nearest town had dried up back in the eighties when oil went bust or when whatever economic catastrophe had hit this part of Arizona had happened, now it was just a spot on the side of the road next to the only gas station within fifty miles and, as I would find out, doubled as a bus station for one or two routes that came this way.

Half dozen old trucks speckled the parking lot, Fords and Chevies that had seen better days, they all seemed to just fit at the old bar. In front was a line of about a dozen bikes. I was going to fit right in.

The jukebox was playing Charlie Daniels, and nobody was listening. It smelled like stale beer, old cigarette smoke and, what had caught my attention, barbeque. Sliding up to the bar, I took a seat where I could survey the room. The bikers had commandeered the pool tables and seemed to enjoy themselves. Truck owners scattered around the bar, staring into their beers, or talking about whatever. A small group was throwing darts on a board that needed to be replaced a long time ago. They didn't seem to care.

"You got Lonestar in a bottle?" I asked as the bartender slid a coaster onto the bar in front of me.

"Sure enough, you want the damned bottle cap, I guess?" I just nodded. Had to do the puzzle.

He put the beer on the coaster, setting the cap down next to it. "And tell me that barbeque is as good as it smells." I took a sip of my beer.

"Brisket, sausage, ribs, slaw, tater salad and fried okra," he looked at me like he couldn't care less if I ordered or not.

"Sounds good," I just nodded. I was just hungry.

I had never seen anyone look so out of place, small and almost frail. He walked up to the bar pulling a small suitcase on wheels behind him, and took a seat a few stools down from me, he was a guy, but so very feminine at the same time "excuse me, can you tell me when the bus to Tucson gets here?"

The bartender looked annoyed, but I guess it was part of his job. He pulled out a card and ran his finger down the timetable. "Seven-thirty. You want anything while you wait?"

"Just water please," I caught him looking at the large plate of meat in front of me, the hunger was evident," um, and a straw," he couldn't have been more delicate if he tried. How he was going to last four hours in here, I had no idea.

The bartender set the glass down in front of him. He picked it up with both hands, holding the straw between his thumb and index finger as he took a sip, his pouty lips wrapping around the straw. I noticed the little things, the way he pulled his long blonde hair back behind his ear, the soft line of his jaw, the way his eyelashes fluttered every so often. He was just so different from anyone I had ever seen. I found myself intrigued; he was just so damned pretty.

I had to force myself to look away when he set the glass down, turned toward me and smiled. "Yes..."

Was it a question or an answer, and if it was an answer, what was the question? I felt the flush in my neck move up my face.

"Uhm, sorry, just noticed you looking at my barbeque when you sat down. Are you sure you're not hungry?"

"A little, I guess, but I fell asleep on the bus, and someone stole all my money." He looked at my plate again. I had the bartender set him up on my tab. From watching him attack the ribs he ordered, he hadn't eaten in a while, he even ordered a glass of wine, it was one of those little screw top bottles and the bartender had to search for it, but he looked happy and content and that made me feel good.

I just watched him as he held each rib delicately between his thumb and index finger, the other three fingers on each hand flayed out like angel's wings as he failed miserably at trying not the get the sauce all over his face, he was so damned adorable.

"Hey guys, look at the pretty boy." the guys that had been at the dart board were walking past on their way out the door. One of them reached over and flipped my new friend's hair with his hand. "I got something you can put in that purty mouth of yours. You'd like that, wouldn't you, faggot?"

"Please, just leave me alone. I'm just waiting for my bus." I could see him tremble.

"Leve you alone, hell, we just want to be your friends is all," the guy laughed, and his friends laughed with him, "what do you say, let's go have ourselves a little party?"

I shouldn't have cared, hell I didn't care about anything anymore. Maybe it was one too many Jack Reacher books. I don't know; but it hit a nerve. "Leave him alone." I didn't even look at the guy, I just took another bit of my brisket.

"What do you think you're going to do about it? Huh, tough guy? You a faggot like the little sissy here? You gonna to suck my cock?"

I looked at the bartender. He wouldn't do anything. These bullies were his regulars, and they were worth more than me and my new friend.

"Fuck," I got up and started to take my jacket off, the guy was about my size, I had seen dozens if not hundreds of guys just like him, his strength and courage came from all the beer he had been drinking and the three guys he was positive were going to back him up; one quick look told me they wouldn't.

"What's that, you want to fuck?' he grinned at me and made the mistake of poking me in the chest.

I grabbed his hand and twisted, taking him to his knees. "You seem to know a lot about faggots. Maybe it's you who wants to suck a dick?" I reached down with my free hand and unzipped my fly, pulling my cock out and sticking it in his face.

"Fuck you, man," he spat up at me.

"If that's what you want," I twisted his arm again, forcing him to turn away from me, reaching around with my free hand and started to undo his belt, his friends just watched wide eyed trying to figure out if I was really going to fuck him right there in front of everybody.

The bikers by the pool table were laughing their asses off as I worked his jeans down, exposing his ass.

"Ok, ok, man, I give, just let me up. I was just having a little fun." He was crying.

"I think my friend deserves an apology, don't you?" I learned over and whispered in his ear, making sure my cock brushed against his ass.

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, "I'm sorry, ok?"

I relaxed my hold on his wrist, letting him scramble to his feet, frantically trying to pull his pants up before anyone saw his raging hard on. "Holy shit, Billy Jack, you're hard as a rock. Were you getting off on that guy's cock against your ass?" his friends took over and the humiliation continued as they followed him out the door.

I tucked myself back in my jeans and sat back down.

"Thank you, but they would have left me alone, eventually." His smile was huge. "And yours is much nicer than his, just so you know." A blush joined the smile as he turned back to his ribs.

"You really gonna fuck Billy Jack right here in front of everybody like that?" the bartender was finally interested.

"Nah," I laughed, "but based on his reaction, I can't guarantee he won't be somebody's bitch before the day's over." We all laughed at the idea. A vision of his three friends taking turns filled my head. I was not erotic at all.

"I'm Carter," I extended my hand to my new friend.

"Jesse," he smiled and put his hand in mine, so soft, so delicate, I was almost afraid I was going to break it, "and really, thank you."

"No problem, I have a thing about bullies, I guess," I smiled at him, "so, Tucson, and then what?"

"I honestly don't know," his smile disappeared, "I've got a cousin there that I'm hoping I can stay with until I get situated. Everything kind of went sideways back home, and I just left."

"Hoping?" I moved over to the stool next to his. "You're broke on your way to, maybe?" I emphasized the word maybe. "Maybe stay with a cousin who I'm guessing doesn't even know you're coming, and you're hoping?" He nodded and for the second time in less than five minutes, I had a guy on the verge of tears. This time, it wasn't funny.

No idea why I did it, it was just there; the words coming out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Hell, no, you're with me until you figure out where you want to be. Got it?"

"You don't even know me." The look on his face was a mix of confusion, disbelief, and gratitude.

"You don't know me either, but you got a better idea?" I smiled at him. He shook his head no.

Jesse went and cleaned up. For someone trying so hard to stay clean, he had the sauce from his ribs all over his face. We sat and talked for a while, finally settling on a plan. I was going to take him to Tucson to his cousin's house and if he could stay, all was good. If he couldn't, he would stay with me, and we would just figure it out.

The bartender could give him a refund on the ticket to Tucson, which put a little money in his pocket. We loaded up and heading east. Jesse had never been on a bike before, and I told him to just hold on until he felt comfortable. When his arms wrapped around me, I caught myself subconsciously hoping it took him a while to do it.

We hit Phoenix just after dark and I pulled into a Holiday Inn Express, getting us into a double room. Jesse could call his cousin from here and we could decide. The conversation went as I feared it would. The look on Jesse's face when he said, "I understand," told the entire story.

A stranger he'd met in a redneck roadhouse in the middle of nowhere was all he had. It hit me. He was all I had, too. I wrapped him in a big hug and just held him. For some strange reason, I was the one that started crying.

We ended up on the floor between the two beds, my head in Jesse's lap, him stroking my hair and doing his best to console me. I told him about my parents dying while I was in Afghanistan and then coming home to find my only remaining family in the ultimate betrayal. It all came out. I cried like a baby. I sniffled and sighed and then laughed with the realization that this delicate little fem-boy, the pretty little flower of a man, was so much stronger than me in so many ways.

Yeah, I could have taken Billy Jack and his three friends in a fight, if I had to. Hell, I could have fucked the jerk in the ass right there and nobody that cared would have been able to stop me.

But Jesse, Jesse had set out on his own with nothing but his faith, a belief that it would be better, no resources and no plan. He just knew that wherever it was, it would be better. He trusted. All to get away from whatever he left behind; he had taken a gigantic leap of faith where I had crawled in a hole to hide. The realization that I was the one that quit, that I had been the one that betrayed me when I gave up, that was what made me break.

My pretty little friend was my new hero.

I rolled onto my back and looked up into those crystal blue eyes. Jesse smiled down at me and wiped a tear from my eye with his thumb.

"I think it's your turn to go wash your face." He leaned down and kissed me in the middle of my forehead, just like my mom used to do when I was little.

I climbed to my feet and offered him my hand. "Thanks Jesse, I, um, I don't know what to say." I smiled feebly as he took my hand and pulled himself up.

"You don't have to say anything. You're the one that adopted me, remember? It's the least I could do. Now go wash up so you can take me to dinner." The little twit had the audacity to swat me on the butt. I smiled and did what I was told.

I guess it was that he felt safe with me, and I had finally let go of a huge amount of anger and pain. What little tension there had been between us dissipated, and we just seemed to fit together. He was funny as hell and if he laughed, I couldn't help but join him. We walked to a little Mexican food place and shared some fajitas; I got a beer and Jesse got a margarita. Just watching him do things was mesmerizing. His actions were so deliberate and so delicate, his hands and fingers so elegant, the way he smiled, and he had this little smirk that just melted me to my core.

As we made our way back to the hotel, Jesse sidled up to me and hugged my arm, laying his head against my shoulder. Neither of us said a word. I just smiled and shook my head, admitting to myself the attention was kind of nice, even if was coming from a very unusual source.

When we got back to the room, I let Jesse use the bathroom first. I just watched as he got undressed and dug some things out of his suitcase. I could have sworn he was wearing women's panties. Whatever they were, they accented his cute little butt perfectly, I could feel myself blushing as he bounced into the bathroom to take his shower, cursing myself under my breath for my inability to look away from his tight little body, those legs, that butt, his tiny waist and that long blonde hair, "just so damned pretty," the thought ran through my head and I went outside to make sure my bike was still there. That's what I told myself, anyway.

I came back to find him sitting in bed wearing a satin nightgown with lace trim. "It's comfy." He smiled at me, reading my mind. I just smiled and shook my head as I sat down and unlaced my boots and get undressed so I could take my turn in the shower.

It was so obvious that he was watching me as I stripped down to my boxers, ogling me was more like it, just as I had him. I smiled at him and shook my head. "Well, I really am gay and a bit of a pretty-boy if you hadn't figured that out, and you are kind of nice to look at." He blushed.

I grabbed some fresh boxers and my dopkit from my bag and made my way into the bathroom, trying not to make it too obvious that I was enjoying the attention. The shower felt great. I shaved and did a little manscaping down south, smiling at myself in the mirror as I admired the results, the voice in the back of my head hoping Jesse noticed.

"Ok, out with it." he gave me a fake pouty glare when I came out of the bathroom. "You've had this scowl on your face and you haven't said a word to me since we got back from dinner. What's bothering you?"

"To be honest, I'm trying to figure some things out is all, like what am I going to do with you?" I gave him a half smile. The innuendo was totally unintended, but it had made me smile when what I had said hit me. "Where we're going to go, that kind of stuff, that's it, I promise."

"So, you're not thinking about the way you can't seem to stop looking at me and my butt in particular?" His pouty glare turned into a huge smile as he twisted around, pulling his nightgown up, shoving his butt out, and shaking it at me.

"You are insufferable." I buried my face in my hands and shook my head, trying not to laugh.

The lace trim on his panties was so damned sexy. "I've just never met anyone like you before. I've never given a guy a second look in my life but, it's like everything you do is so damned adorable. I can't help but watch. You're like a kitten."

"Rawr." he made a clawing motion at me. "You have my permission to watch as much as you want. I enjoy looking at you, too." A flush of red rushing up his cheeks joined Jesse's smile. "Now, as for what you should do with me," he shook his butt at me again and let out the biggest, most girly giggle I had ever heard.

"Yeah, you shake that thing in my face again and I'm going to pull you over my knee." It was an empty threat and the look of excitement on his face told me it wouldn't even be close to a deterrent. Fuck, what had I gotten myself into?

I had faced down an entire squad of insurgents by myself and had lived to get drunk telling the story. I had been in some of the nastiest firefights I could imagine. I was a Ranger for crissakes. Nothing, none of it, came close to how helpless I felt at that moment. This petite little thing, this small little girly boy, was getting to me like it was day one of boot camp and the sergeant was using me to make a point.

"Fuck," I reached over and turned out the light, climbing into my bed and turning my back to Jesse.

"Good night, Carter," his voice drifted across the darkness. I didn't answer.

The sun streaming through the open drapes got my attention, but it was the rich smell of fresh coffee that woke me up. Jesse was standing next to my bed, waving a large cup of the black elixir in front of my face. "Peace offering." He said shyly as I opened my eyes. "I got you a venti, black. It just seemed right." He gave me a weak smile.

"Perfect, and I'm not upset with you. I'm upset with me for letting things get out of hand." I rolled out of bed and accepted his gift. He had something just as big but vanilla and cinnamon, probably a latte. "I knew you were gay when I asked you to join me, and I knew that for whatever reason, I found you attractive. I just needed to protect you. I just don't know why you affect me the way you do, and it scares me, ok?"

Jesse sat down next to me, patting my thigh with his delicate little hand. "Carter, it's ok, I promise to behave. No more teasing if it makes you uncomfortable. I should know better. I know the effect I have on people, good and bad." He took a big sip of his coffee and nudged me with his shoulder. Shit, he was taking care of me again.

He had gotten a small selection of pastries, too. I got dressed, sipping my coffee, and enjoying a piece of banana bread while he sat quietly, watching me, and trying not to get caught, no more teasing my ass.

Our first stop was a bike shop. I splurged and got Jesse a helmet, his own leather jacket, and a pair of chaps; of course, he got girls claiming they just fit better. I knew he was lying and the grin on his face told me he knew I knew.

Lunch in Flagstaff and by three, I was singing us into the last room at El Tovar Hotel. Someone had canceled a wedding at the last minute, and we got the bridal suite right on the edge of the Grand Canyon. It was a single King bed but had a balcony with a view. I decided I could suffer for two nights. Jesse was ecstatic. He'd never imagined staying at a place this nice. I was pretty sure the single king bed was a part of it, too.

We got settled, changed into some more comfortable clothes, I was in shorts and a polo with my sneakers, Jesse was in a cute sundress with a pair of sandals, "Just stop it, ok?" he caught me giving him a serious side eye, "I like to be pretty, it's not a crime." His feigned indignation was too cute for words; I had to admit, the dress looked like they made it for him. I offered him my arm, and we went for a walk along the edge of the canyon, both of us too in awe of what we were seeing to notice when our hands found each other, and our fingers interlaced.