My heart skipped a beat when a tall man emerged from the shade of the trees. It was him! The man named Andy looked down at me and smiled.

“Careful you don’t splash all the water out of that swimming hole, pardner.”

“I…I’m sorry.” I looked all around. It didn’t look to me like I’d lowered the level of the pool, but I sure didn’t want to upset him.

“Don’t pay him no mind, son.” The older man smiled at me and winked. “He’s just pulling your leg.”

“Oh, I know.” I felt my face go red and ducked down under the water to hide my confusion. When I surfaced, Andy had removed his boots and begun to unbutton his shirt. He took it off, folded it and laid it beside the boots. Then he unbuttoned his jeans and slipped them down over his narrow hips. His legs were long, hairy, and slightly bowed. Once he was naked, he stretched his arms high over his head. From his broad shoulders to his narrow waist and on down to his toes, he was all sinew and muscle. He threw back his head and yelled and then ran forward and leaped into the pool. He hit with a huge splash that sprayed me with water. I yelped in surprise.

“That was a cannonball jump,” Andy explained, shaking his head and spraying droplets around him that glittered in the sunshine.

“You call that wimpy little splash a cannonball?” The third man of the group finished stripping and tossed his Stetson on the ground beside his boots.

“I suppose you’re gonna show us all how it’s done, right Frank?”

“I suppose I’ll have to.” Frank took a few steps back, then ran toward the pool. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He hit the water with a tremendous splash and broke back to the surface, spluttering and laughing.

“Bet you can’t top that, Joe,” Frank challenged.

“Hell, you’re both just a couple of pissants.” Joe lumbered to the edge and launched his considerable bulk into our midst. When he surfaced, Andy and Frank started splashing him.

“Help me out, young fella. These varmints are fixing to drown me.” I joined Joe and the surface of the calm pool was suddenly churned like a pot of water boiling on the stove. Molly whinnied uneasily and shied back further into the trees. I got so involved in churning the water with my hands that I didn’t even notice that Andy wasn’t beside Frank until I felt something slide between my legs. I let out a yelp as I began to rise out of the water. I was perched for a few blissful seconds on Andy’s broad shoulders, his sleek head pressed against my belly, his hands gripping my ankles. Then he flipped me backwards and I hit the water with a shout.

I surfaced spluttering and spitting. I saw Andy and lunged for him, but he was too fast for me and he disappeared below the surface again. I could see his naked body as he swam toward me, just above the rocks on the bottom of the pool. I tried to dodge him, but I was slow and clumsy in the water. He slipped between my legs again, but instead of lifting me on his shoulders, he rose up behind me and slipped his arms around my body, pinning my arms to my sides.

“What’s your name, pardner?”

“J…Johnny Dalton.” The heat of his body against my back and the feel of his muscular arms wrapped around me made me forget my own name for a moment. His strong fingers dug into my flesh, but it was a friendly pressure. With my arms pinned, I had no choice but to press my hands against his hard-muscled thighs.

He lowered his head and spoke softly into my ear, ignoring the others. “My name’s Andy Shepard. I saw you in town a couple of months back, but since I didn’t see you again, I figured you were just passing through. Welcome to Durango.”

“I’m right glad to be here.” For the first time since my arrival, I really was glad to be here.

“I declare Johnny Dalton captured!” He shouted to the others. He craned his head forward and looked at me. “That means you’re going to have to join Frank and me against Joe over there. Okay?” I nodded. Andy smiled and loosened his grip although he kept his arms wrapped around me until Joe lunged forward, arms flailing, sending arcs of water high in the air. Andy, Frank, and I joined in until Joe finally held his hands up in defeat. By the time the battle ended we were all laughing so hard we were gasping for breath.

“Good job, Johnny.” Andy draped an arm across my shoulders. I shifted my feet and our legs made contact, knee to hip.

“I still say you young’uns are all a bunch of pissants.” Joe tried for a scowl but a grin won out. “I gotta get on home or the missus will be in an uproar.” He heaved himself up onto the bank and reached for his pants.

“Hell, Joe,” Frank called out, “she might just take quite a shine to you, what with you being so nice and clean.” He followed Joe up onto the bank of the creek. Andy and I trailed along behind.

Joe laughed raucously as he pulled on his boots. “Young fella there better watch out. Some gal’s sure as hell gonna take a shine to that.” He stared pointedly at my crotch. I looked down. My cock was jutting out like a flagpole. I dived for my clothes.

“Hell, Johnny ain’t the only young buck with sap on the rise. Looks like Andy’s in about the same state.” I stole a glimpse in Andy’s direction. His cock wasn’t exactly pointing up at the sky yet, but it was considerable longer and thicker than when he’d first stood on the bank a while back.

“You fellas better be careful. You could put somebody’s eye out with one of them things.” We all busted up laughing at that. I bit down on my tongue real hard and by the time I was putting on my pants my cock was pointing back down at my feet again.

“It was good to meet you Johnny.” Andy had hung back when the other men rode off. He helped me coax Molly back between the shafts of the wagon and get her harness settled. “Don’t pay any mind to the boys. They just like to tease.”

“I didn’t mind. They were all real nice.” I patted Molly’s dusty rump. “It was good meeting you too, Andy.” I held out my hand. He gripped it firmly.

“You got far to go?”

“Uh…not far.” I stared at a buckle on Molly’s harness, suddenly unable to meet Andy’s open, honest gaze. I was scared he’d ask me just exactly where I was going and I didn’t want to tell him. I clambered up on the seat of the wagon and grasped the reins.

“Hope to see you again, Johnny.”

“Me too, Andy.” He mounted his horse and turned its head back toward town. I sat watching until he was out of sight. As Andy and his horse faded to a speck on the horizon, I relived every moment of my time with him and the other men at the creek. I struggled to put a name to what I felt and only gradually came to realize that aside from the desire I felt for Andy, the main thing I felt was happiness. It wasn’t something I was very familiar with. I must have been happy as a child, but since the death of my parents, nothing much had come along to make me laugh out loud for sheer pleasure. Now, even more than desire, the memory of Andy’s big strong arms around me brought me a moment of pure joy. I waved my hand at the empty horizon, then clicked my tongue and Molly reluctantly began to shamble back to the hideout and to Wade.