Jason Comes to Town
As the sun approached its zenith, the town seemed desolate. The heat waves rose like pillars through the main street, if one could really call it that. The only sound to be heard came out of the local saloon. Practically the whole male population of the town drank there, save for a few patrons of the local hotel.
As Jason approached the town, it appeared to him as every other town had. All the familiar sights and smells; he had seen it before dozens of times. His beat-up pickup groaned as it struggled to drag him and his load into town. Granted, he hadn't brought much considering the circumstances: just his trusty rigging, chaps, and saddle. His horse's trailer was hitched to the back of the pickup and, while usually a trusty little brute, it seemed to realize that it was carrying the extra weight. As he drove down the main drag, he made a mental note of the arena, opting instead to secure his bedding for the next four nights.
After he had pulled into one of the few parking spaces available, he checked his horse's water supply before heading into the hotel. The strong scent of alcohol drowned his nostrils almost immediately, causing him to take pause before noticing the large wooden sign with "rooms" printed on it and a large arrow pointing up a staircase. As he walked up the stairs, he looked down at patrons of the bar, trying to get a sense of what he might have to compete against in the next few days. While mostly populated by wolves and dogs, he did notice a few members of other species. The only fox had three or four ladies clinging to him, signaling to Jason that foxes were an oddity in this town. He spotted a few of his own, mostly sticking to themselves, in addition to a couple of beefy tigers, and a lion. It was not the most diverse place he had been to, but he hardly cared. As he reached the landing of the second floor, he heard a voice calling out for him.
"Sir? Sir?" It was obviously a female with a very thick southern accent. He turned his head to look and a pretty mouse greeted his eyes halfway up the stairs. He grinned at her.
"Sir? Are you a guest at this hotel?"
"Oh, howdy ma'am. I'm just here to check in for the weekend." It was clear from Jason's speech that he wasn't from this part of the country and the hostess noted that in her facial expression.
"Could you come this way please?" She asked, as she headed back down the stairs. He followed her lead and eventually ended up in front of the cash register.
"The name's Jason Bowen." He placed his credit card and his driver's license on the counter as the hostess punched a few buttons on the keyboard.
"Okay, Mr. Bowen, I've got you down for four nights. That's $215.60. I'll just need some plastic and an ID." Jason grumbled at the price and nodded towards the two cards on the counter and the hostess narrowed her eyes chidingly as she took them, swiping the credit card. He'd always expected the prices to be cheaper in these middle of nowhere towns, but he always found that they were way more expensive than one would expect.
After taking back his credit card and ID, the hostess led him upstairs to his room. As she unlocked the door, he couldn't help but notice that the etching of the number 15 on the key appeared to have been done by a young child. The hostess walked back downstairs without saying another word, leaving Jason to wonder whether or not he should enter the room. As he peered inside, the musk of old wood wafted through the doorway. He walked in gently, the floorboards creaking below his booted feet. He felt as though he would fall through at any moment. As he looked around, his coyote sense of hearing picked up a phone conversation in the next room.
"Yeah. ... here ... few hours. ... old but nice." Then, there was a long pause. Jason took off his hat and put it on the bed, hoping to hear more as he laid down on the bed. A couple of seconds later, the voice spoke again.
"Lots of your kind here, honey. It doesn't look like there are a lot of my kind, but you can never really tell. I'm going to go freshen up and then get a drink downstairs. Have a nice day, Sairoth! I love you very much."
Assuming that the conversation was over, Jason put his hat back on and headed out of his room. As he walked, many questions flooded his head. "What kind of a name is Sairoth? That sounds like a guy. The voice was definitely male, gruff with a noticeable drawl but just a hint of femininity in it. Could he be...? Naw..."
Jason put the thoughts out of his mind as he descended the staircase. The crowd in the bar was just the same as when he had first entered. It was just the beefcake fest he didn't need at the moment. He stepped outside, feeling the warmth of the desert sun baking his fur as he opened the door to his pickup and hopped inside. As the engine groaned, he pulled out of the parking space and headed to the stables at the arena, hoping to find a stable for his horse.
As Jason pulled into the parking lot for competitors, he noticed the variety of folks around. Lines had been drawn in the dirt behind the stables and, as usual, the spaces were way too small. As Jason struggled to get his hunk of a truck into the space, he noticed his buddy, Clint, grooming his horse. He had a beautiful paint horse, just like Jason's, and the two always enjoyed comparing horses.
Jason hopped out of the truck door and waved at the tiger, "Well howdy there, stranger!"
"Well gosh darn it, I didn't think I'd be seeing yer face again fer a while. How've ya been?" Jason walked up to Clint and patted him on the back. The two went back several years, having both been recipients of the same rodeo scholarship in college.
"You've known full well I was going to be here! How's your wife, Clint? You treating her well?"
"You know I am. I ain't no misogynist! How's yer luck with the women folk turnin' out?"
"Well, you know me and women. No luck there, just as always." Jason scratched his back, his skin itching as the heat warmed his body.
"There's a nice girl out there fer you, Jason. You just gotta rope her in. Maybe you'll get lucky this weekend."
"We'll see. Say, did you register us yet? We should probably go do that. I don't want to forget!"
"Well shucks. I forgot to do that myself." Clint led his horse into the stable and then beckoned Jason with his paw.
"What do you want, you old cat?"
"I thought you wanted to register, you bag of a dog. Now let's git a move on!"
Jason hurried to catch up with Clint, who had already started heading over to the registration desk. "So, Clint, what are you doing this time around?"
"Well, I reckon I could try my luck with the broncs after roping with my best buddy here. How 'bout yerself?"
"Same here, buddy. We've been doing this now for... how long?"
"8 or 9 years, I figure?"
"Yeah, something like that."
As they arrived at the registration desk, Clint noticed a pretty female dog working registration and nudged Jason, whispering, "Look sharp!"
"How may I help you, boys?" There was definitely an air of flirtatiousness in her voice.
Clint, always the sharp speaker, went first, "Howdy, ma'am. We're just here to register ourselves in this here little contest. I've gotta bring home some cash for my family back home, but my buddy here's ridin' single."
Jason scowled and started filling out the release forms that the registrar had presented to them. The dog, presented with two pretty beefy men, chuckled and replied, "Sorry, but I'm already spoken for. Now, tiger, if you'll just sign here and pay your entrance fee, you'll be on your way before you can say 'reride'."
After both of them handed their cash and forms to the lady, Clint tipped his hat and winked at her before they both walked off.
"Womanizer..." Jason chided. Clint just shrugged and chuckled.
"Aww... come off it, Jason! You coulda roped yerself a nice one right there."
"Yeah, coulda, but didn't. Unlike you, I've got something called dignity!" He ribbed his tiger pal and the two of them walked away laughing.
After he and Clint parted ways for the evening, Jason stabled his horse and then drove back to the hotel. To his chagrin, there was only one space left at the hotel and it was pretty far removed from the entrance. He figured that the bar must be heating up with the sun setting and the rodeo in town. As he walked into the bar, he noticed that it had almost three times the number of patrons as it had when he had first arrived.
He slowly climbed the staircase and started walking towards his room. As he passed by room 16, he heard the same gruff voice on the phone. He stopped to listen in on the conversation and heard much of the same. It sounded like this man was on some sort of business trip without his wife and was calling her to chat.
After a few minutes, he grew tired of the conversation and walked into his room. After he dropped off his registration materials, he headed out of his room. As he pulled the door shut, he looked over at a husky coming out of the room next to him. Or was he a husky? He looked like a mix of some sort. Jason couldn't quite place his species. He was immaculately dressed and all of his clothing seemed neatly pressed and cleaned, much more so than the normal guy who would be attending a rodeo (although it was clear from his western wear that he was). The husky tipped his hat to him.
"Howdy there, pardner. How's it going?"
Jason tipped his hat back and replied, "'s going well. How about yourself?"
The husky chuckled, "You're not from these parts, are ya? It's okay, neither am I. Just passing through. The name's Damien. What's yours?" The husky extended his paw.
"My name's Jason. 's a pleasure to meet'cha." Jason shook his paw firmly and was surprised to find that the husky did the same. As he released Damien's paw from his own, the husky winked at him.
"So, where're ya from? I can tell yer not from these parts."
Jason shuffled nervously, looking down at his boots for a second before looking back up at Damien. "Yeah, I'm from California, but I went to college in Wyoming. How about you? Just passing through or are you staying for the rodeo?"
"Well, don't I look like I'm here for the rodeo?" Damien exclaimed. Jason detected a hint of something in his voice that made him tilt his head a bit. It was the same feeling that he got from the phone conversations, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions for fear of being incorrect.
"Yeah, I reckon'. I'm actually competing tomorrow, so hopefully I'll do well."
"You must be pretty pumped then!"
"Naw, it's become routine now. I had a rodeo scholarship at Casper College in Wyoming, so I've been doing this for a while."
Damon chuckled lightly, his belly jiggling slightly in a very jovial fashion. "Well, can't say I've done that."
Jason shrugged. "Are you a fan?"
"You could say that. I'm on a business trip and I've got a couple of days, so I thought I'd stop in and see what all the commotion's about."
Jason could tell that Damien was studying him up and down, no doubt trying to figure out something that Jason himself couldn't immediately grasp. He felt a general sense of unease fall over him as he stood there in the doorway awkwardly. Was Damien onto him? He wouldn't let himself get caught first.
"So, I couldn't help but listen to part of your phone chatting while I was passing by. I hope you don't mind, but who's Sairoth?"
"Well, that depends on how you feel." Jason felt as though his intuitions were right. He knew his next statement would either lead to deeper conversation or getting his tail kicked to the curb. He decided to try an ambiguous answer.
"I keep an open mind."
"Well, then, Sairoth is my husband." Damien smiled and Jason smiled back. Jason shifted his weight onto his other foot, a sense of ease filling his body. He smiled, showing that he was friendly to the idea.
"Congratulations, then. I take it he's not a rodeo fan."
"Naw, he's not too much. Say, unless my canine sense is steering me wrong, you're just like us."
Jason looked at the floor nervously, barely mustering up the courage to nod his head. A quick glance at Damon's face revealed a smile, bringing a small sense of release to the coyote.
"Hey, you're in friendly company here, Jason. No need for shame. We can go into my room if you wanna just talk."
Jason nodded solemnly, fully aware that not everyone looked kindly upon his kind. Damon took the key in his paw and deftly unlocked the door, ushering the coyote inside. Damon took a seat on the bed and beckoned for Jason to do the same. Jason sat down and sighed heavily, his tail twitching nervously a bit.
"Yeah, I'm gay. It's still hard for me to say that, though."
"Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"
"No. Me and this guy messed around before, but it never became anything. He was at Casper College and already had a wife and I felt bad. You know them country boys, always getting married too young."
Damien chuckled at the comment but quickly quieted himself, perking his ears as a sign that Jason should continue.
"So yeah, I'm fairly new at this. I'm not young, but I'm not too old, either. I just don't know how to... tell... you know?"
Damien smiled wisely and said, "I know how it is. I've been blessed, if you will, with the gift of gaydar and, while you definitely don't appear to be, you were setting mine off a bit."
Jason laughed nervously, wondering how many other people had noticed this about him. He hoped it wasn't something that he was exuding accidentally. He decided to investigate.
"Am I... effeminate?"
Damien started to chuckle but then stopped himself, remembering the gravity of the situation at hand. "No, definitely not. This gayday I've got simply gives me an idea about someone. A premonition, if you will. It's up to me to investigate further." He put his paw on Jason's knee and said, "Don't worry, son. Ain't nobody gonna hurt you with me around. Plus, I could use my special sense to help you scope someone out."
Jason's ears perked at the mention of Damien's offer of help. "Well, how can I know that it'll be okay? I mean, we only just met."
Damien nodded and replied, "Well, look at it this way. I'll check him out first and make sure that he's okay."
Jason's facial expressions indicated to Damien that he was not entirely convinced. "Can I have a little bit of time to think this over?"
Damien smiled and replied, "Yes, of course. I already saw a couple of guys I've got pegged down at the bar a bit earlier, so whenever you're ready..."
Jason got up and tipped his hat to Damien, who tipped his hat right back to Jason.
"Thank you, Damien. I'm going to go down for a bit to just look around. I'll meet you down there in a sec?"
"Made up yer mind that fast?"
"Well, if they're down there like you said, there's no point in wasting time."
Damien grinned widely and shouted, "That's the spirit!"
Jason chuckled, "Just let me get my drink first and then I'll be good to go."
Damien jumped up and almost shooed him out of the room, "Well then, get going! No time to waste!"
Jason pushed Damien playfully and ran out of the room to the bar. As he ran down the stairs, he could hardly wait to see Damien's assessment of the situation at the bar. He could barely even put down a few dollars and yelp "whiskey" as his tail twiched with excitement. As he grabbed the bottle and quickly downed the drink, he looked around at the folks in the bar. Was it the fox, still surrounded by ladies, or one of the many wolves just hanging around? He couldn't really be sure.
He looked himself over quickly, noticing that his shirt was a bit more wrinkled than he would have liked. His boots were a bit encrusted with dirt, but that was to be expected of a rodeo cowboy. Luckily, he kept his hat in good condition and had it reblocked often. He was sure that he'd make a good impression.
He noticed Damien coming down the stairs and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He brought his tail wagging into awareness so to reduce its nervous twitching. He'd hate to spoil a first encounter with a potential date by appearing nervous. Damien took a seat next to him at the bar and said, "Ready, Jason?"
Jason took a deep breath and replied, "Ready."