Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll

[MaineWriter]

Good morning, re-readers,

Today, Chapters 66-70.


In chapter 66, Ellery's cutoffs make an appearance for the first time!

http://louisev.livejournal.com/45114.html

Today, due to the heat, he put on a red tank top rather than his usual black t-shirt, which showed the flare of his wide shoulders, and a pair of well worn cut off denim shorts he had had for years that were cut at mid thigh. Back when he was with Bill, he dressed this way all the time. He slipped his feet into a pair of flipflops and went in search of breakfast.

Ennis stared as he walked into the kitchen – dressed himself in his usual white t-shirt, denims, and boots. “What the hell is that getup?” he asked, eyeing the length of thigh revealed by the cutoffs, the snug fit over Ellery’s ass as he bent to check the biscuits.

“Feels like it’s eighty out there, sweetheart, I’m dressin the part.”

“You sure you ain’t dressin ta get me hard?”

Ellery smiled sweetly as he came over to the table, cocking a hip flirtatiously. “Well if it does that while it keeps me cool then all the better.”

Ennis ran a hand up through the thin fur on the back of Ellery’s leg, to the fringe of the cutoffs. “You know what they say about legs like these, darlin?”

“Whassat,” Ellery replied, slightly breathless at the slowly stroking hand.

“Those legs go all the way to the top.”

“They sure do,” he laughed. “You got any coffee, Mr Please an Thank You?”

“Yep, I just poured yours. Now sit down an show me them legs.”

Ellery sat, stretching out his legs as requested, crossing them at the ankle, feeling like a swimsuit model for Ennis’s hungry eyes, as he reached for the cigar box on top of the table and drew one out. “You want yer own or you sharin with me?”

“I’ll have one a my own, thank you,” Ennis replied, his eyes travelling over his less-than-dressed lover. “You are a sight, ya know that?”

Ellery nodded as he puffed on the cigar. “That’s why I grew those big hedges, see, so when people drive by on the road they don’t get in accidents when they see me sunnin myself out on the patio.”


L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 67 is real hot, I'll let someone else quote that. LOL.

From Chapter 68:

As he made his way to the only unoccupied window table for two, he stopped dead when he saw a familiar muscular figure wearing faded army fatigues and a worn camouflage-pattern hat pulled down low over his brow.

“Uh... Dupree?” he struggled momentarily for the name, and the man’s head shot up, a look of anxiety – or was it fear? – passed quickly and he smiled as he recognized Ennis, rising to his feet to take his hand.

“Hey there, Ennis, good to see a familiar face.”

“Uh... I thought you wasn’t... I mean... what are you doin in here?”

Dupree blushed slightly. “Well you know... the investigation an all. Ellery said we might be doin a stake out down south an I never been in one a these kinda... bars, so I figured I’d get some field experience.”

Ennis found this dedication vaguely disturbing, and he also wasn’t sure whether Dupree was being completely honest with him... wondering if his real reason was to run into Ellery off the job. As if to answer his doubtful look, Dupree pressed on. “Ellery said you work here part time ta help him out. Does he come in on weekends too?”

Ennis shook his head. “Not often. He was here last week ta help out the bartender cause he was shorthanded, but other than that, no. He said he had some work ta do tonight on a trial for next week.” Ennis wondered why he was giving such a long explanation to Dupree, but his speculation was cut off in the next moment.

“Well sit down if ya like, maybe I won’t have ta turn nobody down if I got the bouncer sittin with me,” Dupree smiled, slightly embarrassed.

“You look about as much out a water here as I feel,” Ennis admitted.

Dupree blinked. “I thought maybe you met Ellery here or somethin.”

“Well in a way I did... I only came in one time ta find out how queers lived.” He quirked a slight smile. It felt somehow reassuring to him to talk to a straight man about his discomfort.

“Hey, you want a beer?” Dupree asked.

“I get em fer nothin, I’ll go. You want another?” Dupree nodded, holding out his empty, and Ennis went to the bar.


L

[MaineWriter]

More from Chapter 68:

“Here we go. You sure do look nervous, now I know how I look!” Ennis chuckled briefly.

“Sorry. I guess I ain’t gonna do a very good job a stake out if I am this uncomfortable am I?”

“I dunno. Not every queer man likes comin into a queer bar lookin fer fun, there’s always a first time.”

“Yeah I guess so. So you were sayin how you kinda met Ellery here but kinda didn’t....”

“Oh yeah well. That was about six weeks or so ago...” it seemed to Ennis like a lifetime ago that he first saw Ellery come up the stairs of the apartment. Was he really so shy that he would not look him in the eye, then? Was it really only a few weeks ago? “I drove down from Riverton ta find out what a queer bar was like. An... a guy came in all beat up an the bartender had me go look after the kid for the night. Next day he called Ellery in find out what ta do about the assault situation an that’s when we met. I was sorta helpin out for a few days... an that’s when we became acquainted so ta speak.”

“I had the impression the two a you have been together a while. Six weeks huh?”

Ennis blushed. “Well.... we are... livin together.”

Dupree nodded. “So you never went around ta gay bars or nothin? How did you meet guys then?”

Ennis sipped his beer then set it down cautiously. “Didn’t, mostly. I met a boy when I was sheepherdin when I was nineteen... an we... it got serious that summer with us... an it was just him for twenty years. We both got married an ... just saw each other whenever.”

Dupree picked up his own beer, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “So you ain’t... out.”

“No. Well I wasn’t. Since I been here... well, Wes a course knows, an the people in the sheriff’s department. An... my car mechanic....” he smiled a crooked smile and took another sip of his beer.

“Your car mechanic?”

“Yeah. He watches men goin in an out a the Stallion, but won’t come in himself cause he’s afraid it might hurt his business. Saw me one night an then after that he was winkin at me.”

“Oh. Bet ya wanted ta punch em.”

Ennis laughed. “Yeah. I didn’t come ta Laramie fer everyone ta find out I was queer but it’s sorta happenin anyway. But guess I’m gettin a little old ta deny it.”

Reading these exchanges with Dupree are so interesting, in light of what comes later....

L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 69:

He worked until midnight, drinking half a pot of coffee, but by then, feeling like he had gotten the list of evidence straight, and all of the exhibits accounted for with evidence tag numbers, just in case Amos did not, he could straighten him out. He stretched, rubbing his low back, fingers drifting to the tender spot where Ennis had bitten him. That boy has his ways, he thought with a shiver of arousal. He was used to neck nips, but had never had love bites on his body before. It was a new and very exciting element to their growing intimacy, and one he didn’t know the reticent Ennis had in him. Nothin bashful about em now, at least not behind closed doors.

In fact, the fondling on the patio was itself a surprise. Sure, they had high hedges, and as far as they were concerned, Ellery’s patio and yard were virtually sealed off from the world, but Ennis had sat outdoors on the patio rubbing his cock, almost as though he had forgotten those intense inhibitions which caused him to freeze up whenever Ellery slipped and called him “sweetheart” in front of others. He’s changin, and that has to be a good thing, he thought.


L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 69, the shooting begins:

“Who is it?” Ennis said, voice quavering.

“I dunno but we got ta call dispatch, get behind me an get to the phone in the bedroom,” he whispered against Ennis’s ear. Tell em the address, tell em my name, and tell em shots have been fired, approach without sirens, on my say so. An tell em to call Wes Brown on my say so.”

“Okay,” Ennis said, voice rasping dry. He crawled, as instructed through the hall on hands and knees into the bedroom, and dialed 911, repeating Ellery’s instructions..

“Ennis!” Ellery called in a loud whisper.

“Whut?”

“Put some pants an shoes on too, we might need ta run.” He heard Ennis rummaging through his drawer for clean clothes then, and he smiled slightly. Someone shootin at us an he looks fer clean clothes, that’s my Ennis.

L

[MaineWriter]

Chapter 70:

A car drove up and Ennis went out to the door. It was Wes, in his Oldsmobile 88. He got out of the car and went up to the open door, barking in through it. “Where is the man on this door? Where is the other cruiser?” Reynolds opened his mouth, then closed it. “Don’t expect Ellery ta run this crime scene Reynolds, he’s the fuckin victim!” He picked up the phone and immediately began issuing orders, Ellery rising out of his chair and going out to the shattered living room and giving him a sheepish grin.

“My hero,” he said softly. Ennis turned to look at him, and he could see the pale, drawn complexion, and it was then it dawned on him that he was seeing Ellery shaken for the first time.

“Good to see you without any unnecessary holes in you, Ellery,” Wes commented, breaking off mid-sentence. “Yes, I said I want someone on this house overnight an yes I’m authorizin overtime so tell Murdoch to get his lazy ass off the dispatch desk and put on his weapon and get over here. Thank you.” He hung up the phone and fixed an eye on Reynolds, who was still holding the needle nose pliers. “Did you call in an APB on the description a the vehicle fleein the scene?”

“I thought dispatch was gonna…”

“Jesus Christ,” Wes said, and picked up the phone again.

Ellery put a hand on Ennis’s elbow. “We can’t stay here. They’re gonna pick this place over an then we got ta find a place ta stay.”

Ennis blinked, glanced around him self consciously. “Shit,” he murmured.

“We could go to the Stallion, it’s loud up there but…”

Wes stopped talking into the phone and said. “You boys are comin up to the ranch with me. This is a serious situation an bound ta get more serious if we don’t make sure nobody can get at ya Ellery. An where is yer body armor?”

Ellery sighed. “Come on Wes.”

“Don’t come on Wes me. Nobody shoots at my chief deputy with a high powered rifle an gets a second chance without him putting on his body armor now git.”


L

[belbbmfan]

from chapter 70,

Wes glared at him. “You got any idea who might do this?”

“I been arrestin an testifyin in felony cases against assholes an degenerates fer almost half a my life, Sheriff, where do I begin?”

“Out a state plates I suppose. Uniforms didn’t make out more’n that?”

Wes shook his head. “But we do have a roadblock on the 287 interchange stoppin all trucks that ain’t white or yellow an searchin for somebody with a rifle. Traffic is real light.”

“Like he’s gonna get on the interstate an roar off.”

“Amateurs have been known ta do it,” Wes replied. “It’s all we got. Now you boys get in my car, Edna’s makin some cocoa an I want ya nice an calmed down an safe so we can get on this an find out what the hell happened."


cocoa??  Good to see that Wes doesn't easily lose his sense of humour.

[louisev]

yeah, cocoa!  Reading back over the sections in this chapter, Wes really does know how to take charge, doesn't he?  I should do some more of that... perhaps in my current story, Wes can take over the reception plans and bark orders at everybody.  Except his lovely spouse, of course!

[mariez]

Good Morning All!

yeah, cocoa!  Reading back over the sections in this chapter, Wes really does know how to take charge, doesn't he?  I should do some more of that... perhaps in my current story, Wes can take over the reception plans and bark orders at everybody.  Except his lovely spouse, of course!

Yes! Great idea - Wes taking charge is always a good thing! 

Chapter 67 is real hot, I'll let someone else quote that. LOL.

Okay!!!! 

To be read while listening to Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" -

Ellery unzipped the cutoffs, which slid down his thighs easily, and said “Now what?”

“Well now, I guess...” Ennis stepped closer, his roaming right hand sliding around his waist, stroking lightly with his finger tips the line of down beneath his hollow belly, moving steadily downward, slowly, his other hand moving the long black hair aside as his lips brushed the nape of his neck, “we’re gonna make love.”

......

Ennis brought his right hand over and brushed Ellery’s hair away from his face, stroking his head softly as his fingers explored between his thighs, massaging his balls with two fingers, then wandering away, sliding up between the firm cheeks and feeling the sharp heat and sudden pulse of his sphincter, then gripping one lean cheek with his full hand, squeezing, massaging it as he pressed his tongue deeper into Ellery’s pliant mouth, feeling the soft purr of a deep throat moan responding to him, the small movement of his hips as he rose up to meet the random movements of Ennis’s exploring hand, cock throbbing against the sheet, balls tightening in response to the gentle exploration, and as if in answer, Ennis released his ass and slid south once more, gripping his balls, kneading them with soft, insistent strength as Ellery’s hips rolled and bucked slowly, enjoying the manipulation and the gradual arousal he was getting from it. Ennis stroked the hair away from his face, twirling a forefinger lightly around the outer edge of his ear as he tongued his mouth, moaning softly against the deeper, more silent moan of his lover’s throat, enjoying him almost casually, without aim, a slow heat building gradually between them, and he broke the kiss, smiling faintly as he watched his hand stroking Ellery’s balls, the bucking hips and pumping muscles of his ass as he moved rhythmically into his hand.

“I like ta watch ya gettin off...” he murmured, nibbling at Ellery’s lip, and Ellery replied with a low, gutteral moan as his ass rose once again, his balls slipping smoothly through his stroking fingers. “You like this?”

“Yeah,” Ellery whispered, feeling more aroused by the eyes watching him as he thrust into Ennis’s firmly stroking hand, his balls tensing with excitement, making his cock bob with every thrust up and back.

.......

He rode him more gently, this time, the contrast itself like an utterly new experience. He knew Ellery was aching for the next orgasm, and he for his first, but it had to last, just a little longer, just a little longer, his hands tightened over his narrow hips, he looked down, watching the shaft of his cock slid in, again and again, each time perhaps a little faster, his pulse quickening, and they strove together, the tension and pleasure building up until there was no turning back, Ellery bucked up to meet his thrust and he drove into him, once, twice, and the third time his vision dimmed and he pressed against the bite with his thumb, driving once more deep into the suddenly narrow, hot pressure, and exploded, freezing in place as he came, shuddering, with a hoarse-voiced sob, answered by the hard groan of his lover’s responding orgasm.


Yes, indeedy, that was real hot!!!!   


Marie

[mariez]

Wow - so much happens in these chapters!! 

I can't let Dupree's first time in the bar pass without comment:

From Chapter 68:

As he made his way to the only unoccupied window table for two, he stopped dead when he saw a familiar muscular figure wearing faded army fatigues and a worn camouflage-pattern hat pulled down low over his brow.

“Uh... Dupree?” he struggled momentarily for the name, and the man’s head shot up, a look of anxiety – or was it fear? – passed quickly and he smiled as he recognized Ennis, rising to his feet to take his hand.

“Hey there, Ennis, good to see a familiar face.”

“Uh... I thought you wasn’t... I mean... what are you doin in here?”

Dupree blushed slightly. “Well you know... the investigation an all. Ellery said we might be doin a stake out down south an I never been in one a these kinda... bars, so I figured I’d get some field experience.”

Ennis found this dedication vaguely disturbing, and he also wasn’t sure whether Dupree was being completely honest with him... wondering if his real reason was to run into Ellery off the job. As if to answer his doubtful look, Dupree pressed on. “Ellery said you work here part time ta help him out. Does he come in on weekends too?”

Ennis shook his head. “Not often. He was here last week ta help out the bartender cause he was shorthanded, but other than that, no. He said he had some work ta do tonight on a trial for next week.” Ennis wondered why he was giving such a long explanation to Dupree, but his speculation was cut off in the next moment.

“Well sit down if ya like, maybe I won’t have ta turn nobody down if I got the bouncer sittin with me,” Dupree smiled, slightly embarrassed.

“You look about as much out a water here as I feel,” Ennis admitted.

Dupree blinked. “I thought maybe you met Ellery here or somethin.”

“Well in a way I did... I only came in one time ta find out how queers lived.” He quirked a slight smile. It felt somehow reassuring to him to talk to a straight man about his discomfort.

“Hey, you want a beer?” Dupree asked.

“I get em fer nothin, I’ll go. You want another?” Dupree nodded, holding out his empty, and Ennis went to the bar.


L

Ahh . . . the moment when Ennis and Dupree first bond!!!  Love it.  It sure is interesting reading these passages after reading "Duprees' Choice" and "Home for the Holidays" isn't it?  And those army fatigues on his muscular body and the camouflage pattern hat (pulled down over his brow) - a great little bit of wardrobe minutia that I love!!! 

Thanks - Marie